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As mentioned in my first blog post, though French is the official language spoken on Réunion Island, Creole is predominantly spoken amongst the locals.
Reunionese Creole formed within the first 50 years of the island being inhabited (around 1650). Most of the people living in Reunion were from France, Madagascar, Africa and India. It is now the native language of 90% of the island's population and derived mainly from French but also includes terms from Malagasy, Hindi, Portuguese, Gujarati and Tamil.
I’d learnt about Creole before I came here but never learnt the language itself, so arriving on the island and not understanding many of the locals was difficult. However, now, 3 months in, I’m pleased to say I can understand the odd thing people say to one another at the bus stop when speaking in Creole. Heres some of the phrases and words I've learnt:
