Choosing a spelling system for Mauritian Creole

Abstract

Mauritian Creole (Kreol) is a French-lexified creole spoken on post-colonial and multilingual Mauritius. Although it is extensively used, it has not been officially standardised. The choice of a given orthography reflects language beliefs and is therefore ideologically loaded. More specifically, the way creoles are standardised can reflect the bias towards these languages which are seen as inferior to, and dependent on, their lexifiers. In the Mauritian case, this issue is especially significant because there are now efforts to devise an official standard for the language. In 2004, the Government set up a committee to develop a standard orthography for MC. This paper considers use of, and attitudes to, written Kreol. The material presented is based on interviews conducted in Mauritius and participant observation. Although interviewees do not make extensive use of Kreol in written interactions, they tend to support the promotion of literacy in the language. Responses highlight the tension between Kreol and the colonial languages — English and French — and also the role of Kreol as an index of national identity. Our findings confirm that the choice of an orthographic system reflects linguistic and social hierarchies. I conclude that this study has practical social implications for the standardisation of Kreol.

The dynamics of language and ethnicity in Mauritius

“…In the former, Kreol has a low status as it is viewed as a broken non-standard language which is only appropriate for informal use while, in the latter case, Kreol has failed to become both an ethnic and national language due to its association with African descents as well as its low prestige in the Mauritian society (Eisenlohr, 2004;Eriksen, 1990). The stereotype that Creoles belong to the lowest class in Mauritius (Eriksen, 1998) strengthens the idea that those who speak Kreol cannot perform well on the social and economic fronts (Rajah-Carrim, 2008). The State has played an important role in promoting this through its decentralization strategy borrowed from the British colonial system.…”

Exposing preschoolers to the printed word: A case study of preschool teachers in Mauritius

“…Despite efforts made by individuals and groups to standardise and elaborate MC, culminating in a first all-Creole dictionary (Carpooran, 2009), the use of written MC is limited to certain specific domains, e.g. in select local literature (Mooneeram, 2007), in some adult literacy campaigns (Mooneeram, 2009), in computer-mediated communications such as texting and e-mailing (Rajah-Carrim, 2008, 2009), in church (Rajah-Carrim, 2008) and in some Muslim madrassas (Auleear Owodally, 2008, 2011). While some of this writing is done in various standardised forms, much is done in organic orthographies (Sebba, 2007).…”

Multilingual Language and Literacy Practices and Social Identities in Sunni Madrassahs in Mauritius: A Case Study

“…Mauritians are not taught literacy in a standardized Mauritian Creole variety at school. Mooneeram (2007) and Rajah-Carrim (2008 suggested that Mauritian Creole might be in the process of being standardized from the grassroots, by literature authors and increasingly by people writing short messages, chats, and e-mails in Mauritian Creole. For the time being, Mauritians use the literacy skills they have acquired at school in English and French to write in Mauritian Creole in a nonstandardized fashion.…”