Rie Koike “accidentally” took an interest in Mauritius in 2000. And since then, this interest has kept growing. The associate professor at Fuji Tokoha University in Japan was in Mauritius last week to work on her second study of Mauritius. Thanks to her meeting with linguist Dev Virahsawmy, she has developed almost a passion for the study of Creole and its use here. She has already translated two of his novels – Li and Toufan – into Japanese.

“I was running a business in Taiwan when a close friend of mine who was working here for the Japanese International Corporation Agency told me that the trip was not too long between the two countries and that I should come and see her.” Although her stay was short, she was able to contact Dr Wong from the University of Mauritius – who introduced her to Dev Virahsawmy. “Before that, I did not know Mauritius at all,” she admits almost shamefully.

After meeting the linguist, this specialist in American literature felt she could write something on the situation of Creole in Mauritius. So, her first project was focused on Dev Virahsawmy and his role in establishing a written version of the mother tongue in Mauritius. “In Japan, everything is taught in Japanese and it makes it much easier for pupils to understand. People tried to teach English through English in Japan at a certain point in time but it did not work. Only the mother tongue can explain some concepts in detail”, she believes. Her meeting with Jimmy Harmon from the Centre de Formation des éducateurs (CFDE) and other stakeholders of the sector has helped her get a more precise view of the situation.

Rie Koike is now involved in a second study on Mauritius. “I am interested in the Mauritian situation because it is different from any other place I know – and particularly from Japan. In my country, everything is translated into Japanese. Education is done in Japanese and books are all published in our mother tongue. But Mauritius is a young country and you still need other languages”, Rie comments.

So, she focused her second report on the impact of 9/11 on the language policy. She has the feeling that Mauritius is going towards French rather than English but she will finish her report by the end of next year. Thanks to a grant from the Japanese government, Rie can visit Mauritius once a year. She will be back to complete her report in March or September next year. Until then, she will keep contact through email with people in the country she “really likes”.