Chapter Six: Fun with Creole

This lesson brings together grammar, vocabulary, and cultural expression to help you speak Mauritian Creole more naturally. These are the structural quirks that set Creole apart from English and are essential for sounding like a native speaker.

Double Talk (Emphasis and Softening)

Due to its relatively compact vocabulary, Kreol often employs repetition (double talk) to modify the meaning or emphasis of a word.

1. Softening Verbs

Repeating a verb often makes the action less serious, less focused, or more casual (like adding “a little bit” or “just strolling” in English).

Base Verb	Double Talk (Softer Meaning)	Example	Translation
Koze (to talk)	Koz-koze (to chat)	Nou ti koz-koze.	We chatted (informally).
Mars (to walk)	Mars-marse (to stroll)	Li pe mars-marse.*	He is strolling (taking a casual walk).
Bat (to beat)	Bat-bate (to do little jobs)	Mo ti fek bat-bate.	I was just doing a few errands.

2. Emphasizing Adjectives and Adverbs

Repeating an adjective or adverb serves to intensify the meaning (equivalent to using “very, very” or “really fast”).

Base Word	Double Talk (Intensified Meaning)	Example	Translation
Vit (fast)	Vit-vit (really fast)	Bizin fer li vit-vit!	(We) must do it really fast!
Long (long)	Long-long (extremely long)	Sime-la li long-long.	The road is extremely long.

Super-Emphasis: You can repeat a word multiple times (within reason) to convey extreme intensity. Bien-bien-bien kontan means “very, very, very happy.”

Time and Dates

Kreol handles time and dates based on its French roots, which requires slightly different phrasing than in English.

Telling Time (The Hour)

In Kreol, you ask for “the hour” (ler) and then describe the minutes around the hour. Note that ler is shortened to er when used in a phrase.

Time	Creole Phrase	Literal Translation
10:00 am	Dis-er	Ten hour
10:20 am	Dis-er-vin	Ten hour twenty
10:30 am	Dis-er-edmi	Ten hour and a half
10:40 am	Onz-er-mwin-vin	Eleven hour minus twenty

Pronunciation Tip: The ‘Z’ Link When a word ending in ‘s’ is followed by another word, the ‘s’ sound often shifts to a ‘z’ sound to make pronunciation flow better (a phenomenon called liaison).

• Dis-er (ten hour) is often pronounced Di-z-er.
• Trwa-z-er (three hour) is pronounced with an added ‘z’ sound.

Parts of the Day:

• Dimatin: Morning (am)
• Dan lapremidi: In the afternoon (pm)
• Midi: Midday (12:00 pm)
• Minwi: Midnight (12:00 am)

Example: Trwa-z-er-edmi dan lapremidi (3:30 pm).

Days, Months, and Ordinal Numbers

Days of the Week	Months of the Year
Lindi (Monday)	Zanvie (January)
Mardi (Tuesday)	Fevriye (February)
Merkredi (Wednesday)	Mars (March)
Zedi (Thursday)	Avril (April)
Vandredi (Friday)	Me (May)
Samdi (Saturday)	Zwin (June)
Dimans (Sunday)	Zilie (July)
Wikenn (Weekend)	Out (August)
	Septam (September)
	Oktob (October)
	Novam (November)
	Desam (December)

Ordinal Numbers (First, Second, Third): Formed by adding -iem to the base number.

• Premie (first) — Exception
• Deziem (second)
• Trwaziem (third)
• Katiem (fourth)
• Dernie (last)

Grammar Tip: The Extra ‘Z’ The ‘z’ in deziem and trwaziem is added purely for pronunciation ease, ensuring the word rolls off the tongue naturally.

Age and Duration

Asking and Stating Age

In Kreol, you do not are your age; you have your age (using the verb ena). You use the word larz (age) to ask this question.

Question / Statement	Creole Sentence	Literal Translation
How old are you?	Ki larz to ena?	What age do you have?
I am eight years old.	Mo ena wit-an.	I have eight years.

Since When (Depi)

The versatile word depi is used for ‘since,’ ‘for,’ or ‘from,’ and is crucial for expressing duration.

In English, we use the Present Perfect Continuous tense (I have been doing…), but Kreol uses the Progressive Present (pe) combined with depi.

English Tense	Creole Construction	Literal Translation
I have been learning for two years.	Mo pe aprann depi de lane.	I am learning for two years.
He has been here since morning.	Li pe isi depi matin.	He is here since morning.

Direction and Location

Kreol has a rich vocabulary for describing location, often using the same prepositions as English, but sometimes requiring the connector ar or ek (with).

Location Word	Meaning	Location Word	Meaning
Isi	Here	Lao	Above
Laba	Over there	Enba	Below
Devan	In front (of)	Deor	Outside
Deryer	Behind	Andan	Inside (person/body)
Akote	Next to	Ledan	Inside (object/container)
Drwat	Right	Gos	Left

Complex Positional Phrases

When describing something positioned between or opposite two things, Creole typically requires the connector ar (with) or ek (with) after the location word.

English Structure	Creole Structure	Example	Translation
Opposite X	Anfas ar/ek X	Zwenn mwa anfas ar kafe-la.	Meet me opposite the cafe.
Between X and Y	Ant X ar/ek Y	Lisyen-la ant tifi-la ek so kamarad.	The dog is between the girl and her friend.

Origin (Sorti)

To describe where someone comes from, Kreol uses the verb sorti (to leave/come out) instead of a verb meaning ‘to come.’

Creole Sentence	Translation	Literal Translation
Mo sort Angleter.	I come from England.	I leave England.
Li sort Moris.	He comes from Mauritius.	He leaves Mauritius.