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This study investigated the changing patterns of language use and language attitudes of younger generations of Mauritians over the last two decades. This article discusses the shift in language attitudes of students in secondary education with special emphasis on Kreol*, taught since 2012 in primary schools and from 2018 in secondary schools. A comparison with results from earlier studies suggests a positive attitude shift towards Kreol in education as well as an acceptance of multilingualism and multiculturalism as an integral part of being Mauritian. Asian heritage languages lag behind in the multi-diglossic patterns of language use. Nonetheless, despite a steady decline in the home domain, students choose to study them in schools and attitudes towards them highlight a strong sense of cultural and religious attachment to ancestral heritage. *The word Kreol refers to Mauritian Creole. The term Creole is used to refer to the type of language and members of the Creole community, who are descendants of former slaves and mixed parentage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mauritius is a multilingual postcolonial island of the Indian Ocean. Although the French-lexified creole, Mauritian Creole/Kreol, is the native language of 70% of the Mauritian population, it is excluded from the education system. Kreol lacks prestige because it is seen as broken French and associated with the local Creoles, a socioeconomically deprived ethnic group. Over the last decade, there has been increasing pressure on the government from linguists and pedagogues to include this low-prestige variety in the school system. The government has recently proposed the introduction of Kreol in primary schools. In this study, I analyse the attitudes of 79 Mauritians towards the introduction of Kreol into the education system. I show that there is no consensus as to whether or not Kreol should be introduced in schools. Responses also highlight the two distinct roles of Kreol: it is both a national language and an ethnic language associated with Creole identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]