Safeguarding the Seychellois Creole (Lalang Seselwa), Culture and Heritage

‘Nou fyer ozordi […] Seselwa i koz Kreol seselwa e i annan en kiltir kreol (Today we are proud that […] we speak the Seychellois Creole and we have a Creole culture. Lenstiti Kreol i konmemor Lazournen Enternasyonal Lalang Maternel. (2016, February 22). Seychelles Nation. Retrieved from https://www.nation.sc/archive/248503/lenstiti-kreol-i-konmemor-lazournenenternasyonal-lalang-maternel )’ (Seychelles Nation, 2016, own translation). This sense of pride has been pivotal in the struggle to delineate the Seychellois’ Creole identity, founded on the basis of culture, heritage and language. The Seychelles is the first Creole-speaking country in the world to declare its Creole as a national language and use it as a Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) at least in primary schools. Since then, the country has come a long way in its efforts to promote and safeguard its Creole heritage and has attempted to surf the wave of globalization currently sweeping across small island states and creole-speaking countries. In this chapter we seek to analyse the language attitudes of the younger generation, with the ever-increasing preference for the English language and show to what extent the Creole language is perceived as part of their culture, heritage and identity. A close look at language policy and language attitude reveals important patterns. Moreover, with concerns over the potential loss of the Creole language as a great part of culture, recommendations will be proposed to ensure that the language, culture and heritage are safeguarded into the future.