Mauritian Creole and Language Attitudes in the Education System of Multiethnic and Multilingual Mauritius

Rajah-Carrim, Aaliya

doi:10.2167/jmmd474.1

Cited by 30 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 14 publications

(6 reference statements)

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“…Sandred (1996) reveals further that Krio is now being used in primary education, in adult literacy campaigns, in newspaper articles, and for serious creative literature. Rajah-Carrim (2007) reports that the government of Mauritius has recently proposed the use of Kreol (Mauritian Creole) in primary schools. Similarly, Martin-Wilkins (2005) provides information about the effort of a research team led by Hubert Devonish in trying to prove that bilingual education is possible in both English and Jamaican Patois (see also Thomas, 2005).…”

Section: Discussion: Can Nigerian Pidgin Be Empowered?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Empowering Nigerian Pidgin: a challenge for status planning?

Igboanusi

2008

World Englishes

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In spite of the fact that Nigerian Pidgin (NP) is probably the language with the highest population of users in Nigeria, it does not enjoy official recognition and is excluded from the education system. It lacks prestige because it is seen by many Nigerians as a "bad" form of English and associated with a socially deprived set of people. This paper explores the possibility of empowering NP (and its speakers) by raising the value of the language through status planning, especially in the education system. On the way to realising this goal, it analyses the attitudes of 200 educated Nigerians towards its use as well as towards steps aimed at empowering it. The results show that, although there is no consensus as to whether NP should be granted official status, a large majority of respondents did not favour its use in education. The study highlights three major problems associated with the promotion of NP: (1) lack of economic value, (2) perceived effects on the local languages, and (3) the effect of the use of NP on English language proficiency. The study discovers that empowering 1 NP is a challenge, which will be very difficult to overcome in the near future, and it suggests the way forward.

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Section: Discussion: Can Nigerian Pidgin Be Empowered?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Empowering Nigerian Pidgin: a challenge for status planning?

Igboanusi

2008

World Englishes

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“…Today, Mauritian Muslims live in a context where three groups of languages are used: the colonial languages English and French, the ancestral languages of the Indians and Chinese, and the lingua franca Mauritian Creole (Rajah-Carrim, 2007). English is the de facto official language of the country, the administration, legislation, and education; however, English is the least socially used language, such that less than 0.3% of the population speaks English as a home language (Central Statistics Office [CSO], 2000).…”

Section: The Local Context: History Religion and Languages Of Muslimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite its extensive use, Mauritian Creole has remained entirely "outside the realm of constitutionality and officialdom" (W. Miles, 1999b, p. 97). Mauritian Creole also has an intraethnic function, as it is associated with the Afro-Mauritians, locally known as Creoles (Rajah-Carrim, 2007). In a state that supports ancestral cultures and languages, Creoles are appropriating Mauritian Creole as a linguistic symbol of their ethnic identity as they attempt to forge a distinct identity in a context in which their historical past is more blurred than that of the other inhabitants of Mauritius (cf.…”

Section: The Local Context: History Religion and Languages Of Muslimentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Owodally

2011

Reading Research Quarterly

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This study analyzes the connections among multilingual language practices, multilingual literacy practices, and social identities in two Sunni madrassahs in Mauritius. The study is framed by sociolinguistic and poststructuralist perspectives on language and identity, and social practice views of literacy. Data collection and analysis involved observations, interviews, and the analysis of written documents. In a national context that has long rejected Mauritian Creole as a language of education and literacy, the madrassah is nonetheless a place where both oral and written Mauritian Creole, among other languages, is used to religiously educate the children. The study revealed that the madrassah is a site where multilingual, multiliterate, and multiscriptural practices are used as resources to provide religious instruction, while at the same time being a place where fluid identities are shaped and negotiated through these resources. These findings suggest that dichotomies between institutionalized and local vernacular literacies and between religious and secular identities do not reflect the complexity of identities being constituted and expressed at the observed madrassahs. Speakers and readers may use multiple oral and written codes to negotiate social identities, with some identities being more negotiable than others. تحلل هذه الدراسة العلاقات بين ممارسات اللغة المتعددة الألسن، ممارسات القراءة والكتابة المتعددة الألسن والهوايات في مدرستين دينيتين في جزر موريشيوس. هذه الدراسة في إطار وجهات نظر سوسيولغوية وما بعد البنيوية حول اللغة والهوية وآراء الممارسة الاجتماعية لتعليم القراءة والكتابة. تضمن جمع البيانات والتحليل ملاحظات ومقابلات، وتحليل الوثائق المكتوبة. في إطار سياق وطني, رُفض "الكريول" الموريشي لمدة طويلة كلغة للتعليم والقراءة والكتابة، مع أن المدرسة الدينية تعتبر مكانا، حيث نجد أن "الكريول الموريشي" المكتوب والشفوي؛ إضافة إلى لغات أخرى، يُستعمل دينيا من أجل تعليم وتربية الأطفال. كشفت الدراسة أن المدرسة الدينية مكان تُستخدم فيه ممارسات تعدد اللغات وتعدد القراءة والكتابة وتعدد الديانات كمورد لتوفير التعليم الديني، بيد أنها تعتبر في الوقت نفسه مكانا تُشكَل وتتحاور فيه الهويات السائلة من خلال هذه الموارد. تشير هذه النتائج على أن الانقسامات بين القراءة والكتابة المؤكدة على النظام واللغة العامية المحلية، وبين الهويات الدينية والدنيوية لا تعكس الطابع المعقد للهويات المشكّلة والمعرب عنها في المدارس الدينية قيد الملاحظة. قد يستخدم المتكلمون والقراء رموزا شفوية وخطية متعددة من أجل التعبير عن هويات اجتماعية، مع كون بعض الهويات أكثر تداولا من غيرها. 本研究分析在毛里求斯两所逊尼派回教学校里，多语种的语言实践、多语种的读写文化实践，以及身份认同之间的关系。研究的理论框架，是以社会语言学与后现代主义之视角来观察语言和身份认同，并以社会实践的观点来看待读写文化。研究资料的收集与分析，包括有观察、访谈及书面文件资料分析。在毛里求斯国内，毛里求斯克里奥尔语一直被拒绝成为一种教育与读写语言，尽管如此，在回教学校里，其他语言及毛里求斯克里奥尔语的口语及书面，却用来对儿童进行宗教知识教育。本研究显示，回教学校是一个使用多种语言、多模态读写文化及多元圣经实践作为资源来提供宗教教学的地方，同时，也是一个透过这些资源来塑造及商定易变的身份认同的地方。这些研究结果更显示，以二分法的视角来把读写文化分看成制度化与地方性的读写文化，把身份认同分看成宗教与世俗的身份认同，并不能反映出在回教学校里所观察到有关身份认同在形成及表达过程中的复杂性。讲话者或阅读者，可以使用多种口头语和书面语的语言法则来商定社会身份认同，而某些社会身份认同比其他的社会身份认同较为容易协商。 Cette étude analyse les relations entre des pratiques de langue multiples, des pratiques de littératie multiples et des ...

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“…The statuses of races and ethnicities streamlined from the colonial heritage of Mauritius have long created a geopolitical battlefield where subtleties in different complex ethnographic identities exist. More developments are outlined by Collen (2001), Carter and Torabully (2002), Kern (2004), Rajah-Carrim (2007), Allen (2008) and Benedict (2008), who describe the Mauritian complex colonial history and national and transnational identities before and after independence. In ideal terms, an international education as defined above should go as far beyond geographical configuration as national boundaries, and the potential envisaged by the international Africa/Europe/Middle East regional office is evidenced below: "We are a region with a wealth of cultural and linguistic varieties that provide an ideal platform for a discussion about the nature of international education" (IBO, 2008b).…”

Section: Poonoosamymentioning

confidence: 99%

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in post-colonial Mauritius: reaffirming local identities and knowledges

Poonoosamy

2010

Asia Pacific Journal of Education

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Mauritian Creole and Language Attitudes in the Education System of Multiethnic and Multilingual Mauritius

Cited by 30 publications

References 14 publications

Empowering Nigerian Pidgin: a challenge for status planning?

Empowering Nigerian Pidgin: a challenge for status planning?

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

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in post-colonial Mauritius: reaffirming local identities and knowledges

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