Dictionary

In a multicultural country like Mauritius it is no surprise, that there is variety of languages: all in all there are 22 spoken languages on the little island! English is the official language, whereas French is used mainly in the media. Both of them are taught in Mauritian schools. Due to the fact that a lot of people of different origin are living in Mauritius, you can also find various chinese and indian languages. In daily life there is one certain language spoken by everyone no matter how old or where they originate from: Kreol. This language is closely related to French. There is no official way of spelling Kreol words. Kreol came into existance during the colonial time, when the slaves where forced to learn the language of the French landowners. In this way Kreol become a language, which derives from French and absorbed madagascan expressions as well as Suaheli and Hindi. Worldwide there are about ten million people who are speaking Kreol, which differs denpending on the country, in which it is spoken.

As a tourist you can beat your way through Mauritius by using English. However, sometimes it is very useful to know some French or Kreol expressions. Due to the fact that French is similar to Kreol, Mauritians tend to understand and speak it better than English. Here you can find a little English-French-Kreol dictionary, with helpful expressions and phrases.