Kreol Seselwa
Seychellois Creole
French-based creole
Seychellois Creole (Kreol Seselwa) is the national language of the Seychelles archipelago in the Indian Ocean, French-based with East African Bantu, Malagasy and Indian Ocean substrate influences. With ~73K L1 speakers, it forms the Indian Ocean French-creole triad together with Mauritian (mfe) and Réunion (rcf) creoles. Standardized in 1981 by the Lenstiti Kreol with a phonemic Latin orthography. Co-official with English and French; used in primary schooling, parliament and the long-running radio drama Karanbol.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Seychellois Creole
Water
delo
/delo/
Fire
dife
/dife/
Sun
soley
/solej/
Moon
lalin
/lalin/
Mother
manman
/mãmã/
Father
papa
/papa/
Eat
manze
/mãze/
Drink
bwar
/bwaʁ/
Love
lanmour
/lãmuʁ/
Heart
leker
/lekeʁ/
Tree
pye dibwa
/pje dibwa/
House
lakaz
/lakaz/
Dog
lisyen
/lisjɛ̃/
Cat
sat
/sat/
Hand
lanmen
/lãmɛ̃/
Eye
lizye
/lizje/
Hello
bonzour
/bõzuʁ/
Thank you
mersi
/mɛʁsi/
One
enn
/ɛn/
Good
bon
/bõ/
Sources
- Bollée & D'Offay (2009) Le créole seychellois
- Lenstiti Kreol (Creole Institute Seychelles)
- Ethnologue 27: Seselwa Creole French
Words compared
Compared with related French-based creole languages
| Meaning | Seychellois Creole | Réunion Creole | Mauritian Creole | Guadeloupean Creole | Haitian Creole | Picard | French |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | delo /delo/ | dlo /dlo/ | dilo /dilo/ | dlo /dlo/ | dlo /dlo/ | iau /jo/ | eau /o/ |
| Fire | dife /dife/ | dofé /dofe/ | dife /dife/ | difé /dife/ | dife /dife/ | fu /fy/ | feu /fø/ |
| Sun | soley /solej/ | soley /solej/ | soley /solej/ | solèy /solɛj/ | solèy /sɔlɛj/ | solèl /sɔlɛl/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ |
| Moon | lalin /lalin/ | lalinn /lalin/ | lalinn /lalin/ | lalin /lalin/ | lalin /lalin/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ |
| Mother | manman /mãmã/ | manmon /mãmõ/ | mama /mama/ | manman /mãmã/ | manman /mɑ̃mɑ̃/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ |
| Father | papa /papa/ | papa /papa/ | papa /papa/ | papa /papa/ | papa /papa/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ |
| Eat | manze /mãze/ | manz /mãz/ | manze /mãze/ | manjé /mãʒe/ | manje /mɑ̃ʒe/ | minger /mɛ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ |
| Drink | bwar /bwaʁ/ | bwar /bwaʁ/ | bwar /bwaɾ/ | bwè /bwɛ/ | bwè /bwɛ/ | boère /bwɛʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ |
| Love | lanmour /lãmuʁ/ | lamour /lamuʁ/ | lamour /lamuɾ/ | lanmou /lãmu/ | lanmou /lɑ̃mu/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ |
| Heart | leker /lekeʁ/ | ker /kɛʁ/ | leker /lekeɾ/ | kè /kɛ/ | kè /kɛ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ |
| Tree | pye dibwa /pje dibwa/ | pyébwa /pjebwa/ | pye /pje/ | pyé bwa /pje bwa/ | pyebwa /pjebwa/ | abre /abʁ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ |
| House | lakaz /lakaz/ | kaz /kaz/ | lakaz /lakaz/ | kaz /kaz/ | kay /kaj/ | mason /masɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ |
| Dog | lisyen /lisjɛ̃/ | lisien /lisjɛ̃/ | lisien /lisjɛ̃/ | chyen /ʃjɛ̃/ | chen /ʃɛ̃/ | kien /kjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ |
| Cat | sat /sat/ | shat /ʃat/ | sat /sat/ | chat /ʃat/ | chat /ʃat/ | cat /ka/ | chat /ʃa/ |
| Hand | lanmen /lãmɛ̃/ | lamin /lamɛ̃/ | lame /lame/ | men /mɛ̃/ | men /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ |
| Eye | lizye /lizje/ | zié /zje/ | lizie /lizje/ | zyé /zje/ | je /ʒe/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ |
| Hello | bonzour /bõzuʁ/ | bonzour /bõzuʁ/ | bonzour /bõzuɾ/ | bonjou /bõʒu/ | bonjou /bɔ̃ʒu/ | bojour /bɔʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ |
| Thank you | mersi /mɛʁsi/ | mersi /mɛʁsi/ | mersi /meɾsi/ | mèsi /mɛsi/ | mèsi /mɛsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ |
| One | enn /ɛn/ | inn /in/ | enn /ɛn/ | yonn /jõn/ | youn /jun/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ |
| Good | bon /bõ/ | bon /bõ/ | bon /bõ/ | bon /bõ/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ |
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