Seychellois Creole

Seychellois Creole
kreol, seselwa
Native to Seychelles
Native speakers
 73,000 (1998)[1]
Dialects
Official status
Official language in
 Seychelles
Regulated by Lenstiti Kreol
Language codes
ISO 639-3 crs
Glottolog sese1246[2]
Linguasphere 51-AAC-cea (& -ceb)
Praslin & Curieuse

Seychellois Creole, also known as kreol or seselwa, is the French-based creole language of the Seychelles. It shares official language status with English and French (in contrast to Mauritian and Réunion Creole, which lack official status in Mauritius and Réunion).

Description

Since its independence in 1976, the government of the Seychelles has sought to develop the language, with its own orthography and codified grammar, establishing Lenstiti Kreol (the Creole Institute) for this purpose.

Language Word
Creole Nou tou bezwen travay ansanm pou kree nou lavenir
French (IPA) /nu‿z/ /a.vɔ̃/ /tus/ /bə.zwɛ̃/ /də/ /tʁa.va.je/ /ɑ̃.sɑ̃bl/ /puʁ/ /kʁre.e/ /nɔtʁ/ /av.niʁ/
French Nous avons tous besoin de travailler ensemble pour créer notre avenir
Gloss We all need to work together to create our future

In Creole, the definite article (derived from the French le, la and les) forms part of the word, so that 'the future' is lavenir (as opposed to the French l'avenir). The possessive is formed by adding the pronoun, so that 'our future' is nou lavenir, literally, 'we-the-future'. Similarly in the plural, les Îles Éloignées Seychelles in French ('the Outer Seychelles Islands') becomes Zil Elwanyen Sesel in Creole. Note the z in Zil, as, in French, les Îles is pronounced /le.z‿il/.

Samples

(Lord's Prayer)

Ou, nou papa ki dan lesyel,
Fer ou ganny rekonnet konman Bondye.
Ki ou renny i arive.
Ki ou lavolonte i ganny realize
Lo later parey i ete dan lesyel
Donn nou sak zour nou dipen ki nou bezwen.
Pardonn nou pour bann lofans
Ki noun fer anver ou,
Parey nou pardonn sa ki n ofans nou.
Pa les tantasyon domin nou,
Me tir nou dan lemal.

49 fables of La Fontaine were adapted to the dialect around 1900 by Rodolphine Young (1860–1932) but these remained unpublished until 1983.[3]

(See also Koste Seselwa, the national anthem.)

Notes

  1. ↑ Seychellois Creole at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Seselwa Creole French". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  3. ↑ Fables de La Fontaine traduites en créole seychellois, Hamburg, 1983; there is also a selection at Potomitan.info

References

  • D'Offay, Danielle & Lionnet, Guy, Diksyonner Kreol - Franse / Dictionnaire Créole Seychellois - Français. Helmut Buske Verlag, Hamburg. 1982. ISBN 3-87118-569-8.
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