France claimed Mauritius in 1715. The French East India Company renamed Mauritius Ile de France and transformed it into a prosperous colony which was under the French Government control in 1767. In 1810, Mauritius was captured by the British. The French language is still used more widely than English. Similar to West Indies, Mauritian Creoles originates from the plantation owners and slaves who were brought to work on cotton and sugar fields. While English is the official language, it is spoken by only 3% of the population. French is the native language of Franco-Mauritians and is used by the mass media. Eighty percent of the newspapers are written in French, which also dominates the advertising field. Mauritian Creole is the national language and is spoken by the majority of Mauritians. Nearly the entire population knows and uses Mauritian Creole for communication.

Mauritian Creole Translation
The majority of Mauritian Creole words come from French, although a few are derived from English, Indian languages, and several from Malagasy and Chinese. Like many French-lexicon creoles, Mauritian Creole words often incorporate the article as part of the form of the word. For example: "liver" (winter), derives from the French "l'hiver", and "dilo" (water) from "de l'eau". In Haitian Creole translation, "water" would be "dlo" and winter "ivè." There is some disagreement as to the presence of a definite article in Mauritian Creole.