100 most common verbs (1-20)

Agree - dakor/ok

Allow - kave

Answer - repone

Ask - demander

Be - ene ***

Become - vine

Begin - koumenser

Believe - croire

Borrow - preter

Break -  kasser

Bring -  amener

Buy - aster

Call - telephoner

Can - kav

Carry - saryer

Change - chanzer [sonz]

Close - fermer

Come - vini

Cut - couper

Decide - decider 

......

Past present and future tense practice.

Past vs Future vs Present

There are thee key words which indicate to us which tense (past, present or future) is being used: 

Pou - be going to (future indication)

Pay - is/am doing (present indication)

ti [Tea] - (past indication)

Future:

The future can be indicated in two ways

1) going to

I am going to the shop - mo pay al laboutik (this is a present tense which indicates the future so in order to avoid confusion you must indicate WHEN the action will occur. 

Examples: deman mo pay al gym - tomorrow I am going to the gym

Dan 2 zer temps mo pay al guette football. 

2) will

Examples: 

I will go to the shop - mo pou al laboutik. 

They will drive all night - Zot pou conduire toute la nuit

Past: there are two ways in which the past can be used:

1) add the word 'ti' before the verb

2) change the pronoun

Examples:

They ate - zot ti manze

They ate - zone [zon] manze pizza

I loved - mo ti content

I loved - mon content

You liked - to ti content

You liked - tone [ton] content

He/she spoke - li ti kozer [cosay]

He/she spoke - lin kozer

They learned - zot ti apprane

They learned - zone apprane

We visited - nou ti visite

We visited - noune [nun] visite

Love is in the air!

Ever wondered why I'm learning Mauritian Creole... Isn't it obvious? For love of course!! Why else?

Last summer I went to Mairitius for a wedding that effectively changed my life. I met a boy and, yes, we fell in love! We have everything in common and even lived in the same city in England and knew some of the same people! (So why did I have to go all the way to Mauritius to find him?!) Things are great. His family are fantastic (Mauritian people are the friendliest people you will ever meet) and when they all get together they always speak in Mauritian Creole. So I'd love to learn some and be able to understand and join in! Its a fun language and has lots of similarities to French, which I also speak, so I don't have an excuse really

Some useful phrases and some good news

Today I want to learn some phrases! I was trying to decide exactly what kind of phrases to learn just now and then I got a phone call. I got a job interview!!! Yes! For a job I'd really love! I'm going to use this good news as my base for today's words. Interview questions! 

1) ki maniere? - how are you?

2) kot to sortie?  - where are you from? (Or if asking where you are from as in country, then ki payies to sortie?)

3) ki to kontent faire? - what are your hobbies?

4) ki to kontent faire dan to pass temp - what do you like to do in your free time?

5) kot to rester? - where do you live?

6) ki faire to envi sa travay la? - why do you want this job?

7) komien experience to ena dan sa travay la? - how much work experience do you have?

8) kan to kave coumenser? - when can you start?

9) kisana kave recommend twa? - who can give you a recommendation?

10) to rest loin depi sa lendroit la? - do you live far from this area?

Evaluation

1 & 2 : the verb to be is often omitted

4 : to means 'you' and also 'your'

8 & 9 : kave - is/are able to

10 : depi - means 'since' but also means 'from'

Ho ho house vocabulary! 50 words

Happy day 4 of advent!

I've decided to learn some household vocabulary today. Basically just items I can see whilst I'm sat on my sofa writing my blog!

Lakaz - house

Plafon - ceiling

Sali - floor

Carpet - carpet

Laporte - door

Miraille - wall

La cuisine - kitchen

Lescalier - stairs

Salon - living room

Lasam manger - dining room

Lasam - bedroom

Spare lasam - spare room 

Office - office

Zardin - garden

Lafenete - window

Shelf - shelf

Bookcase - bookshelf

Papier mirraille - wallpaper

Lapeinture - paint

Sali en dibouit - wooden floor

Lacour - driveway

Garage -shed

Garage - garage 

Boîte lette - letter box

Corridor - hallway

Laho lescalier - landing

Pleg - plug socket

Lacloss laporte - doorbell

 - light shade

Decoration - decorations

Radiater - radiator

Lamanse laporte - door handle

Serire - keyhole

Akoter la fenete - windowsill

Thermostat - thermostat

Gazon - grass/lawn

Mat laporte - doormat

Ridow - curtains

Blind - blind

Tie back - curtain tie backs

Membe - furniture 

Marble - tiles

Vinil- Lino

Carpet -carpet 

Skirting board - skirting board

Rail ridow - curtain rail 

Extension lakaz - house extension

Conservatoire - conservatory

Loft - loft

Emba lakaz - basement

Laho - upstairs

Emba - downstairs

 

We wish you a grammatically correct Christmas!

# 'ou' is the formal You and 'to' [toe] is the informal. 

# 'pé' [pay] indicates the present tense and 'po' [pooh] indicates the future. 

Mo pé allé... = I am going to go...

Mo po allé... = I will go...

# 'habite' means 'live' but it's more common to hear 'reste' when taking about living in a place or area. 

Mo reste Bedford. = I live in Bedford. 

# types of shops:

Magazin - big shop

La boutique - small shop (like newsagents)

Bazar - typical market

# text talk: AC = assez = enough

# mo = 'I' or 'my'. Mon means the same BUT indicates the past tense. 

An ugly advent calendar, 44 new words & a song.

So, last night I went to the supermarket to buy myself an advent calendar. To my horror, there were none left! Can you believe it? After our long search and asking about 100 members of staff, I managed to find the very last advent calendar. It is the least christmassy and ugliest advent calendar I have ever seen but hey, at least I got one. I couldn't imagine a Christmas without one.

Anyway, back to Creole and a song!

Here's the vocabulary. Once learned the song should be easily understandable.

Sa meme - that is

Simé - way

Tone - you have 

Montrer - shown

Pou - will

Passer - go

Li - it

Laba - there

Dir - tell

Bizin - have to

Conseil - advice

Vine - come

Dan - in

Li couma - it is like 

Soleil - sun

Pé - (present tense)

Lévé - getting up

Gramatin - in the morning

Salair- heat

Depi - since

Banané (lané) - year

Boucou - a lot

So sazesse - knowledge 

Devoir - homework/ obligation

Riss - risk

Vanne - sell

Rissesse - richness

Pov - poor

Lonneteté - honesty

Éna - have

Mo lavi - my life

Maré noir - black sea

Létan - time

Azordi - today

Appranne - learn 

Dimounes - people

Kisana (kisana sa)- who (who is it)

Fer - do

La sarité - charity

Envie - want

Linité - 

La verité - truth

Paroles de "Simé la lumière" de Kaya

Sa meme simé tone montrer moi
Sa meme simé ki mo pou passer
Sa simé la li alle laba meme
Sa meme simé ki mo pou passer
Sa meme simé to finn mette moi
Sa meme simé dir pou passer
Sa simé la simé la limière
Sa meme simé ki mo pou passer

Bon conseil
Ki vine dan la limière
Li couma soleil
Ki pé lévé gramatin
Ki donne saler depi boucou bananés
So sazesse
Ki nou tou bisin pé suivre

Devoir riss bisin vanne la rissesse
Devoir pov bizin éna lonneteté
Devoir riss bisin vanne la rissesse
Devoir pov bizin éna lonneteté

Chorus

Mo lavi
Li ti dan maré noir
Depi létan
Mo na pa conne la limière
Azordi
Mo pé appranne la limière
Mo finn décider
Pou montrer tou dimounes

Montrer moi kisana ki pé fer la sarité
Dir moi kisana ki pé envie fer linité
Montrer moi kisana ki pé fer la vérité
Simé la limière sa li pou léternité

Chorus

Bon conseil
Ki vine dan la limière
Li couma soleil
Ki pé lévé gramatin
Ki donne salair depi boucou bananés
So sazesse
Ki nou tou bisin pé suivre

Devoir riss bisin vanne la rissesse
Devoir pov bizin éna lonneteté
Devoir riss bisin vanne la rissesse
Devoir pov bizin éna lonneteté

Chorus

Welcome to Mauritian Creole, a few basics

So I've been really searching online and I've managed to find a few simple words and phrases to start me off. I've decided to first log them all here and then look into the spelling and origin of some of the words to try and help me understand them, remember them and possibly help me guess some new words, eventually I'll extend this list into several topics making them much more extensive but at first I think a little goes a long way...

Anyone who has studied French (like me) will instantly see the mix of the French and African Influences! 

My first words:

Missier - Mr

Mamzel - miss

Eski mo capave...? - can I...?

Done moi - give me

Ène - one

Ou - you

To - your

Mo - I/my

Couma ou apelé? - what's your name?

Ki - what?

Ki fair - why?

Kot - where?

Ki age - how old

Mo habite à - I live...

Zoli - pretty/beautiful

Ou bien zoli - you're very pretty

Mama - mum

Papa - dad

Mo frère - my brother 

Mo sère - my sister

Not much but if I could learn 20 a day I'd be a pro in no time! Well I doubt that will be possible every day but I've always found 20 new words is a good chunk to work on at one time. Any more and you're dealing with a bit to much too quickly and you're less likely to remember the words in the long run. I'm off to study these words (my technique is 5 at a time u til I know the 5 with my eyes closed then move on) and sit my by Christmas tree for good luck! (I just made that up but if it works my tree will be up all year!)

Good night!! 

Allez Bye!

Baby steps

I'm about to start my journey learning Mauritian Creole! Eek!!! As a language student and having spent 2 years abroad teaching English as a foreign langauge I think I have a good background ready for learning my 4th language. 

I decided that the best way to learn this rare gem of a language would be to do it online, creating a blog of my progress and quite possible my struggles! I figure this will motivate me to keep going, even when I'm really busy I'll be able to log a bit of creole onto my Blog (although the thought of the battle with my iPhone's autocorrect trying to change every word I write in Creole fills me with dread), but also because previous searching online for any Creole learning material has failed miserably, Mauritian Creole isn't generally a language people would be taught so I'm going to have to be witty with this!

Yes, I know, my blog will only be a tiny drop in a seriously big ocean, but here's hoping that maybe at least one other person might find this useful!!

Ive always found that the best way to learn something is by teaching it, and I strongly believe this can help me learn Creole too; so here goes!! Allez!!!!

P.s. Happy advent!! :)