Mauritian Creole phonology


The phonology of Mauritian Creole is very similar to that of Standard French. However, French /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ have respectively depalatalized to /s/ and /z/ in Mauritian, and the front vowels /y/ and /ø/ have respectively been unrounded to /i/ and /e/.[1]

Consonants
IPAExamplesEnglish approximation
b bagaz bird
d defo den
dʒ diber, gajak jam
f fer fair
ɡ gete good
h halal hut
k kontan skill
l let little
m miray man
n nimero, bann name
ɲ segner roughly like canyon
ŋ long feeling
p partaz speed
ʁ reklam roughly like loch (Scottish English) but voiced, like "gh" in Scottish Gaelic
ɾ maharani[2] rapture (r may be trilled)
s sez see
ʃ shopping, rasion[3] [4] shine
t tolere still
tʃ chombo, tini choose
v via view
z zero zoo
ʒ rezion[5], bej[4] measure
Semivowels
j yer, interier, stasion[3], vizion[5], montagn, lay yes
w wi, trwa, piaw will
Vowels
Oral vowels
IPAExamplesEnglish approximation
a adilt, desann applicant
ɑː bar far (British English)
e editer, kriye hey
ɛ problem, bej, lantenn left
ɛː frer, alerte hair (British English)
ə maja, minimum again
i li, finn bee
iːə mezir roughly like near (British English)
ø le, parese[4] closely like bird
o soz go (Scottish English)
oː for, ortograf more (British English)
u ou, tou too
uːə zour closely like boot
ʌ brushing bus
y ju[4] no English equivalent; similar to bee but with rounded lips
Nasal vowels
ɑ̃ sante No English equivalent; nasalized [ɑ]
ɛ̃ sink, lendi[6] No English equivalent; nasalized [ɛ]
ɔ̃ non No English equivalent; nasalized [o]

Notes

  1. ↑ Baker, Philip (1972). Kreol. A description of Mauritian creole. Hurst.
  2. ↑ The /ɾ/ sound is not native and is usually employed in words imported from other languages.
  3. 1 2 In some accents, si make a /sj/ sound instead of /ʃ/.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Even if these sounds have generally depatalised or been unrounded, they are still present in some accents.
  5. 1 2 In some accents, zi make a /zj/ sound instead of /ʒ/.
  6. ↑ in /ɛ̃/ is sometimes spelt en but pronunciation remains unchanged.
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