Concerning Creole

You start by learning all the swear words!At least that how my daughter learnt the language. Although some people will think that this is rude stuff!!She gets on well with her granny as she speaks the linguo and her elder sister does not speak a word and refuse to learn!! Probably, this is what has happened to you.

Socialise and try to stick to learning and speaking as you go along!!

Good luck!!

LOL @ the dude who says creole isn't widely spoken.  90% of the Mauritius i know prefer Creole to french and English.

Anyway, i've been trying to learn a little bit of Creole because its a really fun language to learn (sort of like Afrikaans from SA),  such imaginative ways to describe things that you can't translate into English which just gives it much more meaning.

- static1.squarespace.com/static/52f5e3d3e4b013e3f94336c5/t/5496d6cfe4b0b348162b04bd/1419171535574/Korek_4th_Edition.pdf

Check the link above.  Its an awesome book to get your started, yes the URL looks dodgy, but i promise its not   Also at teh end gives you HUGE  list of vocab.

I am glad and proud of you investing and learning this language/dialect. Yes, I prefer creole language anytime and as you said difficult to translate sometimes.  I can see that already some foreigners who have settled on the dialect get along well with this language. I guess there are some who will probably have difficulty or don't want to invest their time and energy.

See you soon in Mauritius as I am landing on the 11th July.
Best wishes
Vedan

Hi everyone,

even though this is an old post, id still like to say, Creole is very much spoken everywhere on the island. I am very proud of my language and wouldn't speak anything else while am in Mauritius. My husband is French and he has been learning Creole, even if people reply him in French he will still make every effort to reply back in creole. people are really welcoming and happy to see that he is making an effort.

I am very glad to hear that some people are actually making an effort to learn our language   

@arfness - thanks for the guide! am going to pass it on to my hubby, it might come to use

Good on you!!
motivation and interest are the most important factor!!

I believe Mauritians must not speak Creole because it is a "language" of slaves , a way of communicating with their then colonial masters.

We must reject Creole because it brings us back to the dark ages and the sufferings of slaves.

Creole is simply a phonetic imitation of what colonial french masters were speaking at that time

slaves mimic the french language so that they can communicate with their masters and to be close to them.

Creole is SLAVERY painfully uttered at the whips of colonisers

There is a creole ONG school in the suburb of PortLouis, if you are staying in Maurutius I could help you to meet the responsible. Contact me on the same forum if you are interested, then I will give you the concerned information.

I get your point, but  what do you suggest we should speak in order to have a common understanding? Given the fact that rhe majority is of Indian origin, one might consider it more appropriate for the whole population  to speak Bhojpuri - then again wouldn't that be a painful reminder of indentured labour and British oppressors. If Creole and European languages are after so many centuries associated to something negative, we should probably opt for Chinese or Urdu to not inflict any kind of pain on anyone. What about Afro-Americans? Should they stop speaking English?

Creole is spoken and understood by all mauritian. I dont get your point about, slavery, indentured labourers sensibility.

Oh No!! You can never WIN because the problem is that each individual has their own perception and adapt accordingly!! Just like I cannot and try not to adapt to french conversation because of the grammar although I am always happy and willing to converse in french!!

Hello Karipoulet,

What I wrote was a reply to Jolinta who meant that we must not speak Creole for the reasons mentioned. I, personally love to speak Creole and think it would be a shame if  the language should be banned.

Hello,

Mauritius is NOT an Indian nationand Creole is definitely not a vulgar dialect. Itis a beautiful way of communication for all MAURITIANS.  Using swear words is an individual choice in any language. Anyway, I was being sarcastic  when  I mentioned Bhojpuri. Creole is our cultural heritage whether we like it or not.  Linguistically, it is an almost perfect language.

I have always been proud of Mauritian tolerance and diversity. So why not allowing people to choose the language they like to communicate in?

well said Barbara!!!

All Mauririan Speak Creole language, it is even tuaght at primary shcool, seconday school and at the university of MAuritius.

Many Mauritian speak French English, Bhojpuri,urdu,tamil

Mandarin is also talked

Spanish, German, Italian, are also taught in some school... Now russian too

Dear Vedan, Wellcome to Mauritius. if I can be of any help to help you just send me an email.

Rgds

Hi everyone,

I have removed some inappropriate posts from this thread.

Thanks

Priscilla 

Something that might help is to watch the news in Kreol on MBC and then watch it again later in English.  The first version will have the speakers in the news items speaking mainly Kreol and very often when the English version comes on the sentences spoken are translated into English.  IF you can record the programs then reverse them watch english first and then Kreol.

I respect Jolinta's opinion. Creole was born when the French ruled Mauritius but it does not remind me of slavery at all.If anything I feel proud that we have a language of our own and how wonderful it is that now it is a recognized language. Having said that I have difficulty reading it fast or writing it correctly. I still used some words as they are in French!
Let's be proud of our past because we have come out are richer for having suffered.

My attention was drawn to this tread by a post in the England forum, a rather silly post, but it brought me to a very interesting thread.

My bit, for what it's worth:
I'd strongly recommend learning the language as it'll open doors to experiences you'll never see if you don't.
There's only one way to be properly accepted, and get the full experience from any place you visit, and that's learning the local language.
It might very well be true, French is a major language, but you'll have a far better time if you learn the local tongue.

If I was there, I'd be straight into it, starting with "Thank you"; 2 words that get you a very long way.

'Thank You,'  Fred.

Your post has a international perspective I really appreciated it.

kitt wrote:

Rosiewestie wrote:

My best one is (spelt as it sounds)
Keymanyeh

Meaning how are you, you OK

hehe approximatively the same but its written " ki manier" .

and at the end of the word there must be like the sound "air" and not "eh"


orally, it sounds just like " key manyair"...manyair being just a two syllable word "man" and "yair"

how about Keypoisson  --> ki position

Search on Google for "a beginner's guide to mauritian creole" the first result (pdf) should be the right one for you