Is speaking French necessary for working/living in Mauritius??

Yelles wrote:

Hi All,

My husband had been offered an opportunity to work in Mauritius. Will it be necessary to know French to survive and live in Mauritius? We speak English and Dutch (Afrikaans)

Hello Yelles

Welcome to the Blog!

Speaking French is not necessary as most people can understand English/speak English in Mauritius. That being said it might be an advantage.

Try to learn creole instead, which is the local language. That would be a big plus for you!

While it may not be necessary to know how to speak or understand French (or Creole) to be able to survive and live in Mauritius, it will help you settle in to Mauritian life much faster.  Mauritians will also appreciate that you have gone to the effort to learn their language and you will see a difference in the way you are treated and/or accepted among them.

Too many expats (not just in Mauritius) don't take the time to even learn basic words and phrases such as greetings and the such and too often expats expect locals to be able to communicate in the expat's language.  Even just learning how to say basic phrases will go a long way.

It goes beyond just the language though.  You and your husband must accept that things are going to be different in Mauritius in many ways other than just language.  The way people interact as well as local customs, cultures, food and way of life may very well be different than what you are use to.

The sooner you and your husband can go from the "we had this back home" or "we did it this way in ...." or "our way is so much better" etc. etc. the quicker you will be settled and the happier you will be.  Many expats have a tough time letting go of their previous lives and become very frustrated that things are not the same in their new country as they were accustomed to "back home" where ever they came from.

Hi Yelles, it depends on how long you are going to live/work in Mauritius.

Taking from experience you can get by for a few years just being able to speak English, but in reality in the long run you really need to learn Creole or French.

At work, formal communication will often be in English but talking is usually not. Having said that some jobs in offshore are English speaking only.

One problem you will find if you can't speak either is you will not been seen as a 'local', people will think you are just a tourist and try and rip you off accordingly, you will never get a local price or get discounts etc. The younger people there tend to speak pretty good English but many older people can't, which can be a problem in a market or shop.

If you are only there a few years, then a few basic phrases will really go a long way. So here goes, mo coze creole un ti p (I speak creole a tiny bit)....

yelles,
welcome to mauritius: most adverts, signs, bank accounts, documents, forms, atms, are english. there are english schools private for children, and some newspapers. so u'll be having the basic comfort of reading & understanding.

however in some places, people use "creole" to bargain, like the local markets and so on..

have a jolly time

Hi Yelles,

our national language is English,don't worry then,everybody mostly understands English, but you will also see that french is easy to learn. For your help, take a look at language classes in the Mauritius classifieds to see if there are French classes

Regards

Harmonie.