Linguistic Deviation on Bilingual Billboard Slogans in Cameroon: A Sociolinguistic Appraisal

The link between linguistic deviation and translation techniques is enshrined in the conventionality of language use communication. Linguistic occurs when a text ignores conventional norms order to communicate certain artistic merit draw attention meaning message. main objective this paper interrogate how used on bilingual billboard slogans Cameroon lead such deviations affect communication sociolinguistics. corpus composed fifteen purposively selected from different parts Cameroon. In terms methodology, data was collected by taking pictures billboards extracting their slogans. A qualitative descriptive method document analysis with help Leech’s theory Jakobson’s functions. Regarding results, study identified graphological, semantical, grammatical lexical caused like literal, reduction, adaptation, borrowing, discursive creation, amplification transposition. As result deviation, messages that were finally conveyed through looked absurd sometimes nonsensical. recommends certified translators should be employed translate French English.