Description
Since its independence in 1976, the government of the Seychelles has sought to develop the language, with its own orthography and codified grammar, establishing Lenstiti Kreol (the Creole Institute) for this purpose.
| Language | Word | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creole | Nou | tou | bezwen | travay | ansanm | pou | kree | nou | lavenir | ||
| French (IPA) | /nuz/ | /a.vɔ̃/ | /tus/ | /bə.zwɛ̃/ | /də/ | /tra.va.je/ | /ɑ̃.sɑ̃bl/ | /pur/ | /kre.e/ | /nɔtr/ | /av.nir/ |
| French | Nous | avons | tous | besoin | de | travailler | ensemble | pour | créer | notre | avenir |
| Gloss | We | all | need | to work | together | to | create | our | future | ||
In Creole, the definite article (derived from the French le, la and les) forms part of the word, so that 'the future' is lavenir (as opposed to the French l'avenir). The possessive is formed by adding the pronoun, so that 'our future' is nou lavenir, literally, 'we-the-future'. Similarly in the plural, les Îles Éloignées Seychelles in French ('the Outer Seychelles Islands') becomes Zil Elwanyen Sesel in Creole. Note the z in Zil, as, in French, "les Îles" is pronounced /le"zil/.
Read more about this topic: Seychellois Creole
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