Language contact in writing: exploring the linguistic landscape of Mauritius.

Abstract

Building on Bosquet-Ballah’s (2015) work, this small-scale study takes both a quantitative and qualitative approach to the linguistic landscape to investigate whether place affects the languages present. Sample areas in Port Louis, the capital, Ebene, a newly-developed business area, and Flic-en-Flac, a touristic village were analysed. English signage was high in all areas (80% signs), French was less visible in Ebene (30.61%) and most present in Flic-en-Flac (57.45%). Creole signage was consistently low in all areas (7-8%). Creole played a metaphorical role in Flic-en-Flac to signal Mauritian authenticity to tourists, but in Port Louis it had a situational function to reach locals. This study provides an insight into Mauritius’ multilingual situation, examining the functions of different languages in public spaces.

Publication
New Perspectives on Mauritian Creole and Reunion Creole: Standardization, grammar and language use. John Benjamins Contact Language Library

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