Mauritius

Summary

Official Name: Republic of Mauritius
Population: 1,273,000
General Remarks: Includes Rodrigues and other islands
Principal Languages: English, French
Literacy Rate: 91% (2018 UNESCO)
International Conventions: ACHPR (1987), CDE (1960), CPPDCE (2006), CSICH (2012), ICCPR (1966), UNCRPD (2006), UNDRIP (2007)
General References: Baker 1972, Baker and Ramnak 1985, Barz and Siegel 1988, Eriksen 1990
Language Counts: The number of established languages listed for Mauritius is 9. All are living languages. Of these, 2 are indigenous and 7 are non-indigenous. Furthermore, 4 are institutional and 5 are developing. Also listed are 7 unestablished languages.

Languages

Bengali ben: Users: 6,660 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Outer Languages, Eastern, Bengali-Assamese
Bhojpuri bho: Widespread. Users: 66,000 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c). Status: 5* (Dispersed). Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Outer Languages, Eastern, Bihari
Chinese, Hakka hak: Users: 4,100 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Sino-Tibetan, Chinese
Chinese, Mandarin cmn: Users: 20,200 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c). Status: 5* (Dispersed). Classification: Sino-Tibetan, Chinese
English eng: Users: 203,100 in Mauritius, all users. L1 users: 3,100 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c). L2 users: 200,000 (Crystal 2003a). Status: 1 (National). Statutory national language (1992, Constitution, Articles 33,46,49), used in education. Alternate Names: Anglais Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, English
French fra: Widespread. Users: 926,000 in Mauritius, all users. L1 users: 51,000 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c). L2 users: 875,000 (Marcoux et al 2022). Status: 3 (Wider communication). De facto national working language. Alternate Names: français Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Gallo-Romance, Gallo-Rhaetian, Oïl, French
Gujarati guj: Users: 2,000 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Intermediate Divisions, Western, Gujarati
Hindi hin: Users: 36,000 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Western Hindi, Hindustani
Malagasy plt: Users: 1,300 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c). Status: Unestablished. Alternate Names: Malgache, Plateau Malagasy Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Greater Barito, East, Malagasy
Marathi mar: Users: 17,000 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Outer Languages, Southern
Mauritian Sign Language lsy: Scattered. Users: 1,000 (2021 DBS/DOOR/SIL). Estimated, assuming 0.1% of total population. Status: 5 (Developing). Alternate Names: MSL Classification: Sign language, Deaf community sign language
Morisyen mfe: Widespread. Users: 976,000 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c). Total users in all countries: 1,027,800. Status: 3 (Wider communication). De facto language of national identity. Originated in 1721 in the colonial society in Bourbon and brought to Mauritius. Lingua franca between freed slaves, Indian and Chinese immigrants. Alternate Names: Creolophone, Kreol, Kreol Mauricean, Kreol Morisyin, Kreole, Maurisyen, Mauritian, Mauritian Creole, Mauritius Creole French, Maurysen Autonym: Kreol Morisien Classification: Creole, French based
Punjabi, Eastern pan: Users: 25,000 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c). Status: 5* (Dispersed). Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Intermediate Divisions, Western, Panjabi
Tamil tam: Flacq, Plaines Wilhems, and Savanne districts. Users: 1,100 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c). Status: 5* (Dispersed). Classification: Dravidian, Southern, Tamil-Kannada, Tamil-Kodagu, Tamil-Malayalam, Tamil
Telugu tel: Users: 19,000 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Dravidian, South-Central, Telugu
Urdu urd: Widespread. Users: 800 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c). Status: 4 (Educational). Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Western Hindi, Hindustani

Languages by Status

1 (National)

English

[eng] 1 (National). Statutory national language (1992, Constitution, Articles 33,46,49), used in education. 203,100 in Mauritius, all users. L1 users: 3,100 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c). L2 users: 200,000 (Crystal 2003a).

3 (Wider communication)

French

[fra] 3 (Wider communication). De facto national working language. 926,000 in Mauritius, all users. L1 users: 51,000 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c). L2 users: 875,000 (Marcoux et al 2022).

Morisyen

[mfe] 3 (Wider communication). De facto language of national identity. Originated in 1721 in the colonial society in Bourbon and brought to Mauritius. Lingua franca between freed slaves, Indian and Chinese immigrants. 976,000 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c). Total users in all countries: 1,027,800.

4 (Educational)

Urdu

[urd] 4 (Educational). 800 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c).

5 (Dispersed)

Bhojpuri

[bho] 5* (Dispersed). 66,000 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c).

Chinese, Mandarin

[cmn] 5* (Dispersed). 20,200 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c).

Punjabi, Eastern

[pan] 5* (Dispersed). 25,000 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c).

Tamil

[tam] 5* (Dispersed). 1,100 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c).

5 (Developing)

Mauritian Sign Language

[lsy] 5 (Developing). 1,000 (2021 DBS/DOOR/SIL). Estimated, assuming 0.1% of total population.

Unestablished

Bengali

[ben] Unestablished. 6,660 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c).

Chinese, Hakka

[hak] Unestablished. 4,100 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c).

Gujarati

[guj] Unestablished. 2,000 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c).

Hindi

[hin] Unestablished. 36,000 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c).

Malagasy

[plt] Unestablished. 1,300 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c).

Marathi

[mar] Unestablished. 17,000 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c).

Telugu

[tel] Unestablished. 19,000 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c).

Maps

Cape Verde, Mauritius and Reunion

Graphs

Language Vitality Profile
Full explanation
This graph shows the profile of languages in Mauritius with respect to their level of language vitality. Each individual language that has an entry for Mauritius is included in the profile. The horizontal axis represents the estimated level of vitality. The height of each bar indicates the number of languages that are estimated to be at the given level.
The vitality levels and the color coding of the bars match the scheme used in the guide on How many languages are endangered? In this scheme, the levels and colors are as follows:
- Dark green = Institutional (EGIDS 0-4) — The language has been developed to the point that it is used and sustained by institutions beyond the home and community.
- Light green = Stable (EGIDS 5-6a) — The language is not being sustained by formal institutions, but It is still the norm in the home and community that all children learn and use the language.
- Red = Endangered (EGIDS 6b-9) — It is no longer the norm that children learn and use this language.
These three summary levels have been derived by grouping levels in the Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (EGIDS), which is the more fine-grained scale that Ethnologue uses to assess the status of every language in terms of development versus endangerment; see the Language Status page for a description of the levels of that scale. See also the pages on Development and Endangerment for more discussion.
Language Status Profile
Full explanation
This graph shows the profile of languages in Mauritius with respect to their status of language development versus language endangerment. Each individual language that has an entry for Mauritius is included in the profile. The horizontal axis represents the estimated level of development or endangerment as measured on the EGIDS scale. (See the pages on Development and Endangerment for a fuller explanation.) The height of each bar indicates the number of languages that are estimated to be at the given level. Consult the Status listings for Mauritius in order to see the specific languages for each level.
The color coding of the bars matches the color scheme used in the summary profile graphs on the navigation maps for the site. In this scheme, the EGIDS levels are grouped as follows:
- Purple = Institutional (EGIDS 0-4) — The language has been developed to the point that it is used and sustained by institutions beyond the home and community.
- Blue = Developing (EGIDS 5) — The language is in vigorous use, with literature in a standardized form being used by some though this is not yet widespread or sustainable.
- Green = Vigorous (EGIDS 6a) — The language is unstandardized and in vigorous use among all generations.
- Yellow = In trouble (EGIDS 6b-7) — Intergenerational transmission is in the process of being broken, but the child-bearing generation can still use the language so it is possible that revitalization efforts could restore transmission of the language in the home.
- Red = Dying (EGIDS 8a-9) — The only fluent users (if any) are older than child-bearing age, so it is too late to restore natural intergenerational transmission through the home; a mechanism outside the home would need to be developed.
- Black = Extinct (EGIDS 10) — The language has fallen completely out of use and no one retains a sense of ethnic identity associated with the language.

Resources

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Digest of the languages of Mauritius ($149.95, 22 page PDF)

Mauritius

Summary

Languages

Languages by Status

Maps

Cape Verde, Mauritius and Reunion

Graphs

Language Vitality Profile

Language Status Profile

Resources

Contributions

Editorial Action