Malagasy

Malagasy is the national language of Madagascar. It is a member of the Austronesian family of languages and is closely related to the Indonesian and Malay languages. Malagasy is spoken by around 22 million people. The Malagasy language has been influenced by the languages of Africa, Asia, and Europe. African influences can be seen in the use of words such as ‘mbola’ (meaning ‘house’) and ‘vola’ (meaning ‘to buy’). Asian influences can be seen in words such as ‘tana’ (meaning ‘town’) and ‘kary’ (meaning ‘car’). European influences can be seen in words such as ‘telefaona’ (meaning ‘telephone’) and ‘trano’ (meaning ‘street’). The Malagasy alphabet consists of 21 letters. The letters ‘a’, ‘e’, ‘i’, ‘o’, and ‘y’ can be either vowels or consonants. The letter ‘h’ is only used in words of foreign origin. The letter ‘j’ is used in words of French origin. The letters ‘k’, ‘l’, ‘m’, ‘n’, ‘p’, ‘v’, and ‘z’ are only used in loanwords from other languages. Malagasy has four main dialects: the Antankarana dialect, the Betsimisaraka dialect, the Tsimihety dialect, and the Sakalava dialect. The Antankarana dialect is spoken in the north of Madagascar. The Betsimisaraka dialect is spoken in the east of Madagascar. The Tsimihety dialect is spoken in the west of Madagascar. The Sakalava dialect is spoken in the southwest of Madagascar. Malagasy is a language that is spoken in many different ways. There is no one ‘correct’ way to speak Malagasy. However, there are some features of the language that are considered to be standard. These include the use of the polite form ‘o’, the use of the plural marker ‘-ny’, and the use of the genitive marker ‘-ana’. Malagasy is a language that is full of color and life. It is a language that is always changing and evolving. It is a language that is full of surprises.