Mauritius Languages

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Description[edit | edit source]

  • There is no offical language of Mauritius.
  • Mauritian Creole, which is spoken by an estimated 90% of the population, is considered to be the native language of the country and is used most often in informal settings. It was developed in the 18th century by slaves who used a pidgin language to communicate with each other as well as with their French masters, who did not understand the various African languages. The pidgin evolved with later generations to become a casual language. Mauritian Creole is a French-based creole due to its close ties with French pronunciation and vocabulary.
  • English and French are used in government settings. [1]

Word List(s)[edit | edit source]

Mauritian Creole

French

Alphabet and Pronunciation[edit | edit source]

Mauritian Creole

French

Language Aids and Dictionaries[edit | edit source]

Mauritian Creole

  • Learn Mauritian Creole in 15 mins (YouTube)
  • Baker, Philip, and Vinesh Y Hookoomsing. Dictionary of Mauritian Creole = Diksyoner kreol morisyen = Dictionnaire du crʹeole mauricien. Paris: L'Harmattan, 1987. Available at: WorldCat.
  • Lee, Jacques K. Mauritius : its Creole language : the ultimate Creole phrase book : English-Creole dictionary. London, England: Nautilus Pub. Co., 2003. Available at: WorldCat.

French

Additional Resources[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Wikipedia contributors, "Languages of Mauritius," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Mauritius, accessed 28 March 2022.