English
Usage in Mauritius
By Eugene
Chiba
© 2006
The sunny island nation of Mauritius is the most
linguistically fashionable place on the planet. Its people switch languages
according to the occasion in the way other people change clothes. Over the course of a day a typical
Mauritian might use English to write a school essay, Kreol Morisien to chat
with friends, French to read a novel and Bhojpuri to spend a quiet evening with
the family. So while English is nominally the island’s official language, Mauritians
never use it exclusively across all registers as comparatively dowdy Ontario
Anglophones might. This article will examine where Mauritians use English and
how it is used.
History
Mauritius’ sophisticated language situation has its roots
in a complex history of immigration and colonization. In 1722 the French
settled the island, located in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar, and brought
with them slaves from Madagascar, Mozambique and West Africa. Consequently
French was entrenched as the language of business and government; Kreol,
derived largely from French but comprising a lexicon drawn from Malagasy and
other languages, developed as a means of communication between the French and
Africans, and between Africans of different language groups. English was
introduced when France ceded Mauritius to Britain in 1810 and it gradually
replaced French as the language of administration (Stein 67). When slavery was
abolished in 1833 South Asian labourers arrived to work the fields and brought
with them Bhojpuri and other Indian languages. Finally in the mid-nineteenth
century Chinese tradespeople added Cantonese and Hakka to the mix.
Until its independence in 1968 Mauritius’ economy was
based largely on sugar production (Emmerich 11). Employment was segregated
along ethno-linguistic lines and this perpetuated segregated language
communities: a Franco-Mauritian landed gentry owned the sugarcane fields and
factories and held white-collar jobs; Kreol-speaking Créoles and Blacks worked
as teachers, civil servants, fishermen and artisans; South Asians worked in
agriculture; and the Chinese were the island’s merchants (Emmerich 160). Kreol
was used when one group needed to speak to another (Baker, Kreol, 30). As for
English, because no significant Anglo-Mauritian community settled the island
(Prabhu 15) it never became a widely spoken language. It was essentially
restricted to the two places where its usage could be enforced: government
administration and schools.
Overview of English
Usage Today
Because all Mauritians are exposed to English in schools,
either as a subject or as the mode of instruction, most (73.23%) consider
themselves to be functional in English (Emmerich 72). Comprehension is higher
in urban areas and amongst members of certain ethnic communities – those
descended from Bhojpuri speaking immigrants are 87% functional, compared to 69%
of Franco-Mauritians (ibid). Comprehension levels are higher amongst the young
(79% for those under 19) than the old (15% for those over 63) (Emmerich 73).
This disparity is an issue not of language acquisition but of retention: many
older Mauritians have simply forgotten English, having used it sparingly or not
at all since leaving school.
Despite high comprehension levels, very few Mauritians
(0.3%) choose to speak English at home (Stein 74). On this island, where
describing yourself as trilingual impresses no one, language use is highly
registered. The major languages per register can be described thusly:
Home: Kreol and Bhojpuri
Government and
schools: English
Business: French and Kreol
Literature,
newspapers and television: French
Casual speech: Kreol
It must be emphasized that this table is only a
generalization. For instance, English is neither the only language used in
government – speeches are often delivered in French – nor is it completely
absent in the media. English usage by register is described in greater detail
in the sections below.
Language usage also varies by its employment in speech or
text. For instance, Kreol is primarily a spoken language; it has no
standardized orthography, although an initiative was launched in 2004 to
develop one (Hookoomsing). Meanwhile Mauritians are more likely to read and
write in English on a regular basis (45-55%) than they are to speak in it (25%)
(Emmerich 134).
While written Mauritian English does not differ from that
of standard Canadian English, spoken Mauritian English does. However, there is
no single representative phonology since English can be affected by any of the
island’s other languages. The following transcription exemplifies the
pronunciation of a fluent English speaker and is taken from a presentation made
by delegate Sok Apadu to United Nations climate change conference:
On bihalf of pa:tis fo:miŋ
pa:t ov ðis kɔntækt grup maI koɫʃeə stɛfãn roslənd …
On behalf of parties forming part of this contact group my
co-chair Stephane Roslund …
His pronunciation differs from a standard Canadian one in
several ways. His r’s are non-rhotic: he drops /r/ from parties, forming
and chair – this characteristic may be influenced by British English.
Several vowel sounds are altered: he pronounces on with an /o/, not an
/a/; behalf with an /a/, not an /æ/; and this with an /i/, not an
/I/. The <a> in Stephane is pronounced with a French nasal vowel:
<ã>, instead of /æ/. Diphthongs are sometimes replaced by
monophthongs: later in his presentation he pronounces data /dɛ:tə/, not /deItə/. Less than fluent English speakers
pronounce consonants differently. Peter Stein observes of an average elementary
school graduate that he drops stops after fricatives: first is
pronounced /fœ:s/. Dental fricatives are
replaced by alveolar fricatives: the is pronounced /zɛ/, not /ðə/. These
characteristics are influenced by Kreol (Stein 87).
English in Schools
Virtually no children entering the
school system have any knowledge of English, while virtually all speak Kreol;
consequently, in the first three years of elementary school the mode of
instruction at most public schools is Kreol, the exceptions being elite city
schools where it is French (Tirvassen 65). But English technical terms and
textbooks are employed from the start. From the fourth grade English is taught
as a subject; moreover, it is officially designated as the mode of instruction
(Ministry). However, in many schools teaching continues to be carried out in
Kreol beyond the fourth grade; in some rural areas it continues through
secondary school (Tirvassen 65). As a result, while secondary school final
examinations are written in English, only 30% of students receive a credit in
the English subject section of these examinations (Gokhool).
Because graduation marks the last
time many Mauritians use English with any frequency, its usage has been called
more a hindrance to educational development than a help. Various government
committees have suggested that English be replaced by Kreol as the standard
language of schools (Stein 70), though the lack of a standardized orthography
has thus far made this untenable. English’s continued presence here is also
aided by its prestige: virtually all parents approve of their children studying
in English (Tirvassen 68).
English in Business
During the period of British colonization few Mauritians
used English for business purposes since as an agricultural economy only those
working in higher white collar positions had regular contact with English
speakers or needed technical knowledge. Since 1968 Mauritius has transformed
into an industrial economy with large food processing, textile manufacturing
and tourism sectors (Emmerich 16) whose largest export partner is Britain
(External). The emergence of jobs in hotels and factories requiring technical
expertise has broken down segregated hiring practices (Emmerich 160), and the
resulting integration bodes well for an intercommunity language like English.
So too does the increase in foreign contact, especially in the tourism sector:
English is used by 64% of workers in that industry on a regular basis (Emmerich
164).
Another effect of the internationalization of Mauritian
business is that it has expanded the usage of English within Kreol. Many
English words integrated into Kreol’s lexicon are adoptions of nouns used over
the course of a business day: biznes for business, expor for
export; ekonomiks for economics; akawn for account; and djam
for traffic jam (Baker, Contribution). As a general rule, these are
international terms, not local ones, which were introduced by outside sources
and not by the island’s small Anglo-Mauritian community (Baker, Contribution,
215).
Nevertheless, English has yet to become a major business
language: about 21% of Mauritians use it at work on a regular basis, whereas
70% use French and 66% use Kreol (Emmerich 157). French is used in higher
administrative areas – for instance, supplier/client relationships – and Kreol
in lower administrative areas and in labour. Because of the growth of tertiary
industries French has actually gained in usage as a business language since
1982 (Emmerich 159).
English in Government
English is now the language of politics, administration
and of the courts (Rajah-Carrim 320), but French did not relinquish its
position without a struggle. British efforts to cement English usage in
government began in 1832 when Colonial Secretary Lord Gomrich requested of the
Governor of Mauritius that he stop sending correspondences to him in French,
complaining that it was “not convenient” (Stein 67). Britain’s subsequent
decree that administrative posts require the knowledge of English was ignored.
But Britain persevered: in 1841 English was declared the island’s sole official
language; in 1847 Justices of the High Court were required to present rulings
in English; and by 1914 official government publications were published solely
in English (ibid). Its status in this register was assured when laws barring
South Asians from politics were struck: they now dominate politics, comprise
the majority of the population and are friendlier toward English usage than are
Franco-Mauritians (Stein 74).
English in the Media and
Literature
English language media is limited; the Mauritian
Broadcasting Corporation provides the evening news in French, and French
language newspapers dominate the market (80%). But English terms (“business,”
“hi-tech”) are employed by the French media and English quotes are integrated
into articles without translation:
“Le Premier ministre par intérim n’a rien trouvé de mieux
que de rappeler que “it has been the practice under the previous Government for
parliamentary private secretaries and ministers to receive members of the
public in the Citizen’s Advice Bureau” (From L’Express, 7 December
2005).
Mauritian literature tends to be
written in French (Pirbhai 52) with some in Kreol. French is actually
tightening its grip as the island’s literary language: until recently an author
from a non-French, non-Créole background would often write in English or in an
Asian language as a reflection of their ethnicity, but this is no longer true
(Emmerich 39). As literary consumers, Mauritians prefer to read French language
literature over that of English (Baker, Kreol, 29). However, they are actually
more likely to read non-fiction works in English (ibid). This phenomenon may
arise from the fact that English is associated with technical terms, being the
language of school textbooks.
The Future
of English in Mauritius
Speculation as to the future of Mauritian English usage
must be specific to a particular register (business, casual) since the only
general characteristic of Mauritius’ language situation is that usage in one
register never affects that in another. Otherwise, English with its place in
schools and government would have become the dominant language across all
registers long ago.
One possible development is that casual English usage will
increase alongside that of Mauritius’ other languages. Perhaps a beacon of this
development is the internet blog: virtually all employ English alongside French
and Creole – not one in place of another. The first entry might be in French,
and the next in English; however, in some cases all three languages appear in
the same entry:
“went to lunch at black steers n mamzelle irene
kine paye "bill"
ti sup al cinema apres but no interesting film at al!!!
donc ine ksa ene ti poz codan hehe...” (From black steers; French
is in bold, Kreol in italics).
A second possibility is that English will replace another
language’s use in a particular register. In fact, its role as an intracommunity
language, used within a particular ethnic group, is already growing at the
expense of languages like Bhojpuri (Rajah-Carrim 329). Some South Asian Mauritians
now communicate with relatives in India and Pakistan in English (Stein 73).
However, English has not made inroads against universally understood Kreol as
the island’s most commonly spoken language. Surprisingly, Kreol’s competition
here is French. Because of its association to the Franco-Mauritian upper-class
French was once considered an elitist language (Baker, Kreol, 15). Historically
the majority South Asian communities, barred by the same Franco-Mauritians from
voting and from the upper echelons of government administration (Baker, Kreol,
10), were more comfortable with the expansion of ‘neutral’ English, a prestige
language but one unassociated with any social class. But French is no longer
the language of the elite (Emmerich 37) because of what might be called a
second creolization of the language: its pronunciation has become distinct from
that of standard French (ibid) and it is often used in casually instead of
Kreol.
In the media and in business English usage may expand at
French’s expense. It will be aided by the further internationalization of the
economy: the island’s industrial and agricultural bases are being complemented
with banking and information technology sectors – including the construction of
a new “Cybercity” at Ebene – which will involve more interaction by more
Mauritians with non-French speakers. France has been surpassed both by China
and South Africa as Mauritius’ largest import partner (External) and India is
forging closer ties by making significant investments in the country. In these
cases English is more useful as a lingua franca. English remains a more
accessible language than French too: some commentators have noted that
Mauritians are more comfortable speaking broken English than French (Baker,
Kreol, 24, Bilkiss 30).
A third possibility is that
English usage will decline. The register where this is most likely is in its
schools: Kreol may someday replace English as the official mode of instruction.
With a standardized orthography textbooks could be written in Kreol while maintaining
the use of English technical terms.
References
History
of English Usage
Baker,
Philip. Kreol. London: Hurst, 1972.
Prabhu,
Anjali. Creolization in Process. Ph.D. thesis Duke U. 1999. Dissertation
Abstracts International.
Stein,
Peter. “The English Language in Mauritius: Past and Present.” English
World-Wide 18.1 (1997): 65-89.
Current
English Usage
Atchia-Emmerich,
Bilkiss. La situation linguistique à l’île Maurice. Diss.
Friedrich-Alexander-U., 2005. OPUS Erlangen-Nürnberg. 8 November 2005. http://www.opus.ub.uni-erlangen.de/opus/volltexte/2005/142/pdf/Doktorarbeit%2028.2.2005.pdf
“External
Trade: 3rd Quarter 2005.” Central Statistics Office Homepage. 20
December 2005. http://ncb.intnet.mu/cso.htm
Gokhool,
Dharambeer. "Launching of the National Debate on Curriculum Reforms."
30 November 2005. Government of Mauritius Ministry of Education Website. 18
December 2005. http://www.gov.mu/portal/site/education/template.MAXIMIZE/menuitem.c950fa6430e567472b6cf110a0208a0c/?javax.portlet.tpst=62d51e31bc2a1847772cfc10a0208a0c_ws_MX&javax.portlet.prp_62d51e31bc2a1847772cfc10a0208a0c_viewID=sp3011&javax.portlet.begCacheTok=token&javax.portlet.endCacheTok=token
Government
of Mauritius Ministry of Education homepage. 14 December 2005. http://www.gov.mu/portal/site/citizenhomepage/template.MAXIMIZE/menuitem.2393425ed92cceb10927d523f6b521ca/?javax.portlet.tpst=716b9390feae86d79812e3a3a0508a0c_ws_MX&javax.portlet.prp_716b9390feae86d79812e3a3a0508a0c_viewID=education&javax.portlet.begCacheTok=token&javax.portlet.endCacheTok=token
Hookoomsing,
Vinesh Y. "A Harmonized Writing System for the Mauritian Creole
Language." Government of Mauritius Ministry of Education Website. 18
December 2005.
Rajah-Carrim,
Aaliya. “Language Use and Attitudes in Mauritius on the Basis of the 2000
Population Census.” Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development
26.4 (2005): 317-32. 21 December 2005. http://www.multilingualmatters.net/jmmd/026/0317/jmmd0260317.pdf
Tirvassen,
Rada. “Les Langues et l’éducation à l’île Maurice: Convergences et
divergences.” Etudes Creoles 15.2 (1992): 63-80.
Virahsawmy,
Dev. “Le Système éducatif mauricien.” Etudes Creoles 7.1-2 (1984):
116-25.
Characteristics
of English Usage
Baker,
Philip. The Contribution of Non-Francophone Immigrants to the Lexicon of
Mauritian Creole. Ph.D. thesis U. of London, 1982. Dissertation Abstracts
International.
Baker,
Philip and Vinesh Y. Hookoomsing. Dictionary of Mauritian Creole. Paris:
Harmattan, 1987.
Examples
of English Usage
Apadu,
Sok. “Overview of the Draft Conclusions on Research and Systematic
Observation.” 12 June 2003. Linkages Homepage. 12 December 2005. http://www.iisd.ca/climate/sb18/june12.html
“black
steers.” A*Bel Homepage. 9 December 2005. Mauritius Interactive. 12 December
2005. http://www.mauritius.ca/miblog/?uid=8943&internal=1
Meetarbhan,
Raj. “Au-dessus de la politique.” L’Express 7 December 2005. 20
December 2005. http://www.lexpress.mu/display_archived_news.php?news_id=55601