Tayo language
Encyclopedia
Tayo, also known as "patois de Saint-Louis", is a French-based Creole spoken in New Caledonia
. It is the community language of one village, Saint-Louis, which is situated approximately 17 kilometres from the capital Noumea
.
From 1860 Saint-Louis was a Marist
mission that attracted groups of Melanesians
speaking a number of mutually incomprehensible languages to the mission schools or seminary.. Saint-Louis was also an important agricultural centre and the Marists were noted for their production of sugar and rum.. Workers from various ethnic and social backgrounds, including people from Vanuatu
, French Polynesia
, Réunion
island in the Indian Ocean, India
, Malaysia, Java
(Indonesia
) and as far away as West Africa
and the West Indies, as well thousands of French
convicts worked the land in and around the mission.
Tayo emerged by about 1920 out of a need for a language of inter-ethnic communication. Its lexicon is drawn mainly from French (the French of the Marists, of the convicts and possibly from the varieties of Reunion creole spoken by the planters and indentured workers who came into contact with the Kanaks of Saint-Louis).Its grammar and syntax are strongly influenced by the Melanesian languages of the early inhabitants but structures also have congruence with varieties of French and, to some extent, with Reunion creole.
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
. It is the community language of one village, Saint-Louis, which is situated approximately 17 kilometres from the capital Noumea
Nouméa
Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...
.
From 1860 Saint-Louis was a Marist
Society of Mary (Marists)
The Society of Mary , is a Roman Catholic religious congregation or order, founded by Father Jean-Claude Colin and a group of other seminarians in France in 1816...
mission that attracted groups of Melanesians
Melanesians
Melanesians are an ethnic group in Melanesia. The original inhabitants of the group of islands now named Melanesia were likely the ancestors of the present-day Papuan-speaking people...
speaking a number of mutually incomprehensible languages to the mission schools or seminary.. Saint-Louis was also an important agricultural centre and the Marists were noted for their production of sugar and rum.. Workers from various ethnic and social backgrounds, including people from Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
, French Polynesia
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
, Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
island in the Indian Ocean, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Malaysia, Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
(Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
) and as far away as West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
and the West Indies, as well thousands of French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
convicts worked the land in and around the mission.
Tayo emerged by about 1920 out of a need for a language of inter-ethnic communication. Its lexicon is drawn mainly from French (the French of the Marists, of the convicts and possibly from the varieties of Reunion creole spoken by the planters and indentured workers who came into contact with the Kanaks of Saint-Louis).Its grammar and syntax are strongly influenced by the Melanesian languages of the early inhabitants but structures also have congruence with varieties of French and, to some extent, with Reunion creole.