By Natalie Hanks, Lead Editor

Creole languages are born where cultures collide and connect—in bustling ports, on tropical islands, or when people of different tongues need to find a way to communicate.

Many Creoles emerge in colonial and trade settings, where enslaved or displaced peoples, traders, and settlers need to communicate but share no common language. A Creole blends elements of a dominant language with the vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar from other languages spoken by the local population. Over time, it develops into a fully formed, stable language. Children grow up using it at home as their everyday language.

An example of this is Mauritian Creole (also known as Kreol Morisien), the language of the people of Mauritius. This relatively new language does not have a complete Bible translation, with churches often relying on French versions. TBS is working on a translation for these people, so they might read and hear the Word of God in their own tongue.

Mauritius: The Island Where Cultures Met

Mauritius lies in the Indian Ocean, about 2,000 kilometres east of Africa—a volcanic island ringed with coral reefs and green mountains. The main island covers approximately 2,040km² with smaller islands including Rodrigues, Agalega, and Cargados Carajos (Saint Brandon). Its warm tropical climate and fertile plains make it ideal for sugar plantations. The island was once home to the dodo, a flightless bird that was extinct by 1681.

No single ethnic group is indigenous to Mauritius. Instead, its population of approximately 1.3 million people are a tapestry of Indian, African, European, and Chinese heritage— united not by ancestry, but by shared culture and their common language: Mauritian Creole.

English is the official language of Mauritius, and French is widely used in education, media, and daily affairs. However, the language spoken by around 90% of the population— used daily in homes, markets, and informal settings across the island—is Mauritian Creole. A much smaller proportion speaks languages such as Bhojpuri, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Arabic, and Chinese.

The Language of the People

Mauritian Creole developed during the French colonial period (1715–1810), arising as a means of communication between French settlers, African slaves, and later Indian labourers. Its vocabulary is largely derived from French, but its grammar and pronunciation reflect strong influences from African languages, as well as elements from Malagasy, English, and Indian languages.

Over time, the language has become a symbol of national identity, transcending the ethnic and religious divisions of the population. It continues to evolve and has been standardised in writing since the early 21st century.

The Growth of a Population

In order to understand how Mauritian Creole developed, it is helpful to look at the history of Mauritius. The island was uninhabited until Arab and Malay sailors discovered it in the Middle Ages. The Dutch landed in 1598 and established a permanent settlement in 1638. They named the island after Maurice, Prince of Orange and Count of Nassau, and introduced sugar cane, bringing slaves to work on the plantations. They abandoned the settlement in 1710.

The French took possession in 1715, renaming it Îsle de France and built Port Louis into a major naval base. They developed a large sugar industry dependent on slave labour from Africa.

During the Napoleonic Wars the island became a strategic base for French privateers, until 1810 when the British captured the island and took control. They restored its original name, Mauritius, but allowed French customs and language to remain. In 1835 slavery was abolished, and around 66,000 people were freed. Huge numbers of indentured labourers from India arrived to work on the sugar plantations. The population grew, and today, the descendants of these workers make up a large proportion of the population. Mauritius remained a British colony until 1968.

The Arrival of Christianity

Dutch colonisers in the 17^th century brought Christianity with them, but their brief presence left little lasting impact. Next, the French brought Roman Catholicism with them, which became the dominant religion. It was closely linked with the colonial administration and plantation system, and from 1723 there was a law which said that all slaves coming to the islands must be baptised Roman Catholic.

After the British captured the islands in 1810 they allowed freedom of religion, although Roman Catholicism remained as the main form of Christianity. However, Protestant missionaries soon arrived, working particularly among freed slaves and indentured labourers from India.

One missionary was the Rev. Jean Lebrun from Jersey, who was sent by the London Missionary Society. Lebrun became a key figure in the island’s Protestant history. Fluent in French, within a few weeks of arriving he had opened the first free school for people of mixed descent.

Today, the main religion in Mauritius is Hinduism, having arrived on the island through Indian labourers and now practiced by about half the population. Mauritius is the only African country with Hinduism as the dominant religion. Christianity is the second-largest faith, practiced by approximately a third of the population. However, the majority of Christians are Roman Catholic, with only a small percentage Protestant. Islam is practised by around 17% of the population.

The Lack of a Reliable Mauritian Creole Bible

Throughout the 20th century, occasional passages and paraphrases of Scripture appeared in Mauritian Creole publications, but there was no complete Bible in the language. The earliest known translations into Mauritian Creole were done by S. H. Anderson, who in the late 19th century translated the Gospels, which were published by the British and Foreign Bible Society. Sadly, these have been found to be based on the Greek Critical Text.

A larger project in the 1990s, led by the Bible Society of Mauritius under the umbrella of the United Bible Societies, produced a New Testament in 2009 and is now working on the Old Testament—but again, this follows modern textual criticism and uses a dynamic translation style, similar to the Good News Bible. Another version has been published by the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Due to the unavailability of a reliable Mauritian Creole Bible, most churches in Mauritius resort to using the French Bible. (A few churches run services in English.) However, although many people are fluent in French, others struggle with reading comprehension as French isn’t their primary language; as a result they struggle to read and understand the Scriptures. The need for a faithful, accessible Mauritian Creole Bible remains urgent.

The TBS Mauritian Creole Project

In 2020 the Society was contacted by a native Mauritian who had already embarked on a project to prepare a faithful edition of the Bible in Mauritian Creole. He felt compelled to start the project while leading a low-literacy Mauritian Creole-speaking church in Mauritius, recognising the need for the people to have a reliable Bible in their own language. After our usual checks had taken place, in 2022 we were pleased to appoint him to the role of lead TBS Mauritian Creole Bible translator, and now a team is working together on the project.

The aim of the project is to produce a faithful Mauritian Creole Bible, free from denominational bias (such as Jehovah’s Witnesses) and the influence of modern textual criticism. The translation is based on the Greek Received Text and the Hebrew Masoretic Text, the first in Mauritian Creole. It also uses the English Authorised (King James) Version for reference, along with the ongoing TBS French Bible project. Mauritian Creole doesn’t have all the theological terminology that is required, so some words have been carefully borrowed from the French.

The Gospel according to John was printed in 2025, and most of the 5,000 copies have now been distributed. They have been met with heartfelt appreciation, for many readers, encountering Scripture in their own language feels deeply personal and speaks directly to their hearts. Initially, some more highly educated Mauritian Creole speakers were a little indifferent. They were prejudiced, assuming that Mauritian Creole is too simple or undeveloped to convey profound truths. They saw the language as inferior, not ‘good enough’ for Scripture. However, when they actually read the TBS Gospel according to John in Mauritian Creole, many changed their opinions and were surprised—and even moved—by its depth and power.

This highlights an important need: to educate and reassure the better-educated (usually urban) Mauritian Creole speakers that their language is not a lesser language. Instead, it is an expressive language, suited to communicate Divine truths.

An Ongoing Project

Work is continuing, and several New Testament books have been drafted and are now undergoing review.

Please pray for the translation team as they continue this work—that the faithful Word of God, made clear and accessible in the people’s own language, will bring light and truth to many across this island nation.

Published in Quarterly Record 654.