Skip to main content

Réunion Creole

obelix speaks reunion creole
Obelix speaks Reunion Creole

Réunion Creole (Kréol Réyoné) is spoken on the island of Réunion, a French overseas department located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. With a population of just under one million, Réunion is a vibrant and culturally diverse island, shaped by waves of migration from Europe, Africa, India, and China. As an integral part of the French Republic, French is the official language, but Réunion Creole (Kréol Réyoné) is the mother tongue for the vast majority of the population and remains a vital part of daily life and identity. The island has a strong cultural identity, with music (like maloya and sega), cuisine, and literature reflecting its multicultural roots. Education and media are primarily in French, but Creole is widely spoken at home and in informal settings, and efforts to preserve and promote it have grown in recent years. Today, Creole is used in literature, song lyrics, radio broadcasts, and increasingly in educational materials. It’s also seen as a vehicle for cultural affirmation and pride among the island’s residents.

French-based Creole

Réunion Creole is a French-based Creole, meaning that most of its vocabulary is derived from French, although its grammar and pronunciation are quite distinct. It developed in the colonial era as a contact language between French settlers and enslaved or indentured populations from Madagascar, Africa, and Asia. Unlike Antillean Creole, spoken in islands like Guadeloupe and Martinique, Réunion Creole has a stronger influence from Malagasy and East African languages. For instance, some phonological features and vocabulary items in Réunion Creole are not found in Antillean varieties. The grammar is generally simpler than that of French, lacking verb conjugations and gender agreement, and it uses particles to indicate tense and aspect. Despite these simplifications, it has a rich expressive capacity and is capable of conveying the same range of ideas and emotions as any other language.

Asterix la kaz razade Reunion Creole
Asterix La Kaz Razade

Asterix in Réunion Creole

The famous adventures of Asterix have also made their way to Réunion Creole. Asterix’s wit and satire have proven adaptable to many languages, and Réunion Creole is no exception. The translations provide local readers with the unique pleasure of reading the beloved stories in their native vernacular. Two albums have been published in Réunion Creole:

These editions were translated by François Saint Omer, a well-known advocate for Creole literature and language, and published by Caraibéditions, which specializes in Creole and regional publications in the Indian Ocean.