This paper compares the (socio-)linguistic situation of the French language in Mauritius and Seyc... more This paper compares the (socio-)linguistic situation of the French language in Mauritius and Seychelles, two island States of the Indian Ocean. While both countries share similar colonial histories of successive French and British occupation, the role of French varies greatly between the countries. In Mauritius it is now largely used as a second language and in Seychelles as a third language. Furthermore, a local variety of Mauritian French has long been attested, whereas there have been few descriptions of French in Seychelles, mainly due to its limited use. The first sections of this paper compare the sociolinguistic situation of French in both Mauritius and Seychelles from a synchronic and diachronic perspective and review the language policy prevailing in both countries. The linguistic characteristics of French in Mauritius and Seychelles will be presented (phonology, morphosyntax and lexicon). The last part of this paper will focus on internal language policy, particularly language purism in the diglossic contexts in which French appears with Creole and English as well as the effective use of French in these countries: its presence in the public domain, in the media and in literature.
This paper compares the (socio-)linguistic situation of the French language in Mauritius and Seyc... more This paper compares the (socio-)linguistic situation of the French language in Mauritius and Seychelles, two island States of the Indian Ocean. While both countries share similar colonial histories of successive French and British occupation, the role of French varies greatly between the countries. In Mauritius it is now largely used as a second language and in Seychelles as a third language. Furthermore, a local variety of Mauritian French has long been attested, whereas there have been few descriptions of French in Seychelles, mainly due to its limited use. The first sections of this paper compare the sociolinguistic situation of French in both Mauritius and Seychelles from a synchronic and diachronic perspective and review the language policy prevailing in both countries. The linguistic characteristics of French in Mauritius and Seychelles will be presented (phonology, morphosyntax and lexicon). The last part of this paper will focus on internal language policy, particularly language purism in the diglossic contexts in which French appears with Creole and English as well as the effective use of French in these countries: its presence in the public domain, in the media and in literature.
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Papers by Joëlle Perreau