Languages in Mauritius

Since the country has a diverse culture and different kinds of people, it also contains different tongues spoken in the unique island of Mauritius. Ancestors of Mauritius mostly came from the Indian subcontinent and beforehand, the Mauritians were called “Indo-Mauritians”. The ancestral language of most Hindus in Mauritius is called Hindi or Bhojpuri, with a minority of Tamil or Telegu speakers. The Muslim population in the country is also numerous. Around 95% are Sunni and Hindi speaking. Other languages also include Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Urdu and Arabic.

Chinese immigrants in the country have also influenced the various languages spoken in the country. From the Canton region, the Chinese flew their way to the world of the Mauritians. The Chinese spoke Cantonese, but most Sino-Mauritians came from Mandarin-speaking Chinese settlers.

Intricacies in the exquisiteness of languages in Mauritius have combined different aspects of Mauritian social mosaic. The native language of the country is Creole, a language that originates from mixture of various languages. Around 90% of the country’s population speak the Creole language. The language is also based from its parent languages, rooting from the French language combined with English, Arab, Indian, and some African dialects.

English is another language commonly used in the country. It is generally used in the Parliament, but any member of the National Assembly can still address the chair with French. Moreover, the English language is the language of the government and the court business as well.

Other languages in Mauritius also include Hakka, Urdu, and Marathi.