The importance of local language in Mauritius

Hi,

a very large part of Mauritian people speaks Mauritian Creole, English and French, so many expats don't learn Creole.

Illustration with Radio+: most programs are broadcast in Creole, advertisements mainly in French and Creole and the newspaper is in English. The printed newspapers are written in French with articles or mentions in the 3 languages.

Part of Mauritian people think expats should learn Creole, and part of Mauritian people don't want to see the Creole continue to live...

Mauritians speak creole , write English and read French it’s a unique island with this strange habit .you won’t find much English to read  bcoz it’s read in French   but very few officially write in French . The creole and English is more than enough .creole can be learned by surrounding yourself with Mauritians and Mimicking them ,it’s fun .there are  Very few words in creole -not a lot of vocabulary most of the verbs are direct French but you can make a modern version of using verbs in English it’s ok too . French verbs are considered stylish to be noted here .

have nice day

ganapathy

This is a good development i will like to learn how to speak creole and French

Am really finding it difficult to communicate to some people hoping to get a good teacher here

Thanks

Hello Freeking2k,

Feel free to post an advert in the Language classes in Mauritius section of the website. You might get some offers.

All the best

Bhavna

I am Australian & Mauritian & sometimes I still cant find the words lol. I would be happy to start a little social group & teach you all creole so we can practice. Marie

@Cheryl

Hello,

The main language spoken in Mauritius is Creole and French.

Though most of the population speaks English and Hindi.

I have managed to learn basic French, It is a bit tough as the accent and sound vary for people, and gets tough to understand what they say and mean.

The locals mix Creole and French while speaking and that causes some issues in understanding.

CLAP at St. Jean Road, Quatre Borne which teaches French to expats, below are the contact details.

CLAP Solutions Ltd.

3, Avenue des Glaieuls

3rd floor,

Nearby St. Jean Road Metro station,

Quatre Borne, Mauritius

Contact no. *** Aditya or Chrystel )

English and French is the business language across the segments, I have not had to conduct any meetings in the local language, it was English only always.

Though the preference is French locally.

Greeting people Bonjour when you meet and Bonne Journee when leaving is common.

It is good to know the basic words used locally when you go out shopping.

Learning Creole and French takes time and as long as you try the locals will understand and help you learn.

That is what I can say about my experience so far.

Thanks

Santosh Shetty

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