Mayotte Languages

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Description

  • French is the sole official language of Mayotte. It is the language used for administration, education, most television and radio, as well as in commercial announcements and billboards.
  • Arabic is essentially learned in the Quranic schools.
  • The native languages of Mayotte are:
    • Shimaore or Maore, is a dialect of Comorian (a close relative of Swahili).
    • Kibushi or Bushi, is a western dialect of Malagasy (the predominant language of Madagascar) heavily influenced by Shimaore and Arabic.
    • Kiantalaotsi, is another western dialect of the Malagasy language also heavily influenced by Shimaore and Arabic.

Kibushi is spoken in the south and north-west of Mayotte, while Shimaore is spoken elsewhere. [1]

Word List(s)

French

Arabic

Alphabet and Pronunciation

French

Arabic

Shimaore or Maore

Kibushi or Bushi

Language Aids and Dictionaries

French

Arabic

Shimaore or Maore

Kibushi or Bushi

Additional Resources

References

  1. Wikipedia contributors, "Mayotte," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayotte#Languages, accessed 29 March 2022.