Kreol Seselwa

Here is my "laklas kreol" in Victoria - Mont Fleuri. I was the only foreigner learning Creole. In fact, the other students were predominantly elderly women attending literacy classes. They already spoke Creole fluently, but they wanted to learn to write. Some of them chose to learn English. The teacher, Marie-Michelle, worked simultaneously with me - who worked specifically on the particularities of the Creole language, and with the other students - focusing on improving writing skills.

Kreol Seselwa (or simply Seselwa) is a French-based Creole language, which - like other Creole languages, emerged during the colonialism. Although Creole, English, and French, all have the status of official languages of the Seychelles, Creole is most widely spoken. It is the language of every-day communication; one can hear it in the streets, in the commerce, on TV, and even on the plane (Air Seychelles).

Although there are structural and lexical similarities between the Guadeloupean and the Seychellois Creole, a Guadeloupean and a Seychellois could not communicate easily. The languages are quite different, and what is more - the pronunciation varies. From what I have observed, the Gwada Creole is more pronounced (regarding the mouth opening), whereas Seselwa pronunciation resembles an Asian language (the mouth only slightly open). Also the pitch is different - the Gwada Creole being a low-pitch language, and the Seychellois - a high-pitch. These are some of my modest comparative observations.

Below - several Seselwa examples@:
Mon en etidyan ki anvi apran Kreol. - I am a student willing to learn Creole.
Mon apel Magda. - My name is Magda.
Mon annan 24 an. - I am 24 years old.
Mon reste Lanmizer. - I live in La Misère.
Mon anvi al anvil. - I would like to go to town.
Mon pou al anvil. - I will go to town.
Ki ler i ete? - What time is it?
Mon ti anvi aste en rob. - I wanted to buy a dress.
I annan en kantite dimoun. - There are a lot of people.
And my favorite:
Sa tonton pe travay tro bokou. - His uncle is working too much.