REUNION
Language
Language
Language
French is the official language of Réunion, but Creole is the language of the streets. Very few people speak English. The Creole of Reunion (in Creole, Kréol Réyoné) is too difficult even for many French speakers. The same word can have a completely different meaning in French or in Creole. And if a word does have the same meaning, the pronunciation is again completely different. Creole has many words and expressions that are the result of Hindi, Arabic or Malagasy influences. Sometimes a word or expression has arisen as a result of a misinterpretation of French.
There are two basic rules for pronouncing Creole: the "r" is generally not pronounced and the soft "j" and "ch" sounds become "z" and "s" respectively in Creole. So "manger" becomes "manzay", "jamais" becomes "zamais" and "chanter" becomes "sontay".
| French | Creole |
| Maintenant | Aster (Ester), Koméla |
| Hier | Yer |
| Aujourd'hui | Azhordï, Zhordï (zordi, jordu) |
| Ce soir | Asoir |
| Demain | Dëmin (domin, démin, demin) |
| Bientôt | Taler |
| Rapidement | Vitman |
| Doucement | Doussman, Mouramour, Tipa tipa |
| Ensemble | Ansanm, sanm |
| Très | Bien |
| Presque | Presk |
| Toujours | Touzhour |
| Habituellement | Dabitïd (dabitid, dabitud) |
| Parfois | Parfoi |
| Rarement | Rarman |
| Jamais | Zhamé (zamé, jamé) |
| Beaucoup | Bonpë |
| Récemment | Trozhour |
| À l'heure où | Lërk |
Sources
Ellis, R. / Mauritius, Rodrigues & Réunion : the Mascarene Isles
Bradt
Mauritius, Réunion & Seychelles
Lonely Planet
CIA - World Factbook
BBC - Country Profiles
Copyright: Team The World of Info