Malagasy language

Malagasy
malagasy / مَلَغَسِ
Native to	Madagascar Mayotte
Ethnicity	Malagasy
Native speakers	25 million
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Western Indonesian Barito East Barito Malagasy
Standard forms	Standard Malagasy
Dialects	Merina Sahavoay Sahafatra Antaifasy Betsileo Vakinankaratra Masikoro Sakalava Anjoaty Antemanambondro Tanosy Bezanozano Antambahoaka Zafisoro Vezo Sihanaka Tanala Antakarana Antesaka Tsimihety Northern Sakalava Antaimoro Bara Southern Betsimisaraka Northern Betsimisaraka Mikea Bushi Karimbola Tandroy Mahafaly
Writing system	Latin script (Malagasy alphabet) Sorabe alphabet (historically) Malagasy Braille
Signed forms	Malagasy Sign Language
Official status
Official language in	Madagascar
Language codes
ISO 639-1	mg
ISO 639-2	mlg
ISO 639-3	mlg – inclusive code Individual codes: xmv – Antankarana bhr – Bara buc – Bushi msh – Masikoro bmm – Northern Betsimisaraka plt – Plateau Malagasy skg – Sakalava bzc – Southern Betsimisaraka tdx – Tandroy-Mafahaly txy – Tanosy tkg – Tesaka xmw – Tsimihety
Glottolog	mala1537
Linguasphere	31-LDA-a

A woman speaking Malagasy

Malagasy (/ˌmæləˈɡæsi/ MAL-ə-GASS-ee; Malagasy pronunciation: [malaˈɡasʲ]; Sorabe: مَلَغَسِ) is an Austronesian language and dialect continuum spoken in Madagascar. The standard variety, called Official Malagasy, is one of the official languages of Madagascar, alongside French.

Malagasy is the westernmost Austronesian language, brought to Madagascar with the settlement of Austronesian speakers from the Sunda Islands (about 7,300 kilometres or 4,500 miles away) around the 5th century AD or perhaps between the 7th and 13th centuries. The Malagasy language is one of the Barito languages and is most closely related to the Maʼanyan language, still spoken on Borneo. Malagasy also includes numerous Malay loanwords, from the time of the early Austronesian settlement and trading between Madagascar and the Sunda Islands. After c. 1000 AD, Malagasy incorporated numerous Bantu and Arabic loanwords brought over by traders and new settlers.

Malagasy is spoken by around 25 million people in Madagascar and the Comoros. Most people in Madagascar speak it as a first language, as do some people of Malagasy descent elsewhere. Malagasy is divided in dozen dialects between 3 main dialect groups: Northern Malagasic, Central-Eastern Malagasic and Southern Malagasic. The central plateau of the island, where the capital Antananarivo and the old heartland of the Merina Kingdom is located, speaks the Merina dialect. The Merina dialect is the basis of Standard Malagasy, which is used by the government and media in Madagascar. Standard Malagasy is one of two official languages of Madagascar alongside French, in the 2010 constitution of the Fourth Republic of Madagascar.

Malagasy is written in the Latin script introduced by Western missionaries in the early 19th century. Previously, the Sorabe script was used, a local development of the Arabic script.

Classification

The Malagasy language is the westernmost member of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family, a grouping that includes languages from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and the Pacific Islands.

The comparison between numbers in Malay and Malagasy by De Vitré during his voyage to the East Indies in 1603

Similarities between Malagasy and Malay had been established since the 17th century and Malagasy's relation with other Austronesian languages had already been noted by early scholars, such as the Dutch scholar Adriaan Reland in 1708.

Among all Austronesian languages, Dahl (1951) demonstrated that Malagasy and Ma'anyan – an East Barito language spoken in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, on the island of Borneo – were particularly closely related. The language also has apparent influence from early Old Malay. Furthermore, there appears to be a Bantu influence or substratum in Malagasy phonotactics (Dahl 1988). There are some Sanskrit loanwords in Malagasy, which are said to have been borrowed via Malay and Javanese.

Adelaar (1995) suggested that the vocabulary of Malagasy also contains many words that are of South Sulawesi origin. Further evidence for this suggestion was presented by Blench (2018).

Decimal numbers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Proto-Austronesian, circa 4000 BC	*isa	*duSa	*telu	*Sepat	*lima	*enem	*pitu	*walu	*Siwa	*puluq
Malagasy	iray/isa	roa	telo	efatra	dimy	enina	fito	valo	sivy	folo
Ma'anyan	isa	rueh	telo	epat	dime	enem	pitu	balu	su'ey	sapulu
Kadazan	iso	duvo	tohu	apat	himo	onom	tu'u	vahu	sizam	hopod
Dusun	iso	duo	tolu	apat	limo	onom	turu	walu	siam	hopod
Waray-Waray	usá	duhá	tuló	upát	limá	unóm	pitó	waló	siyám	napúlo
Tagalog	isá	dalawá	tatló	ápat	limá	ánim	pitó	waló	siyám	sampu
Hiligaynon	isa	duha	tatlu	apat	lima	anum	pito	walu	siyam	pulo
Kinaray-a	sara	darwa	tatlo	apat	lima	anəm	pito	walo	siyam	pulû
Ilocano	maysá	dua	talló	uppát	limá	inném	pitó	waló	siam	sangapúlo
Chamorro	maisa/håcha	hugua	tulu	fatfat	lima	gunum	fiti	guålu	sigua	månot/fulu
Malay (incl. Indonesian and Malaysian)	satu	dua	tiga	empat	lima	enam	tujuh	(de)lapan	sembilan	sepuluh
Sundanese	hiji	dua	tilu	opat	lima	genep	tujuh	dalapan	salapan	sapuluh
Javanese	siji	loro	telu	papat	limå	nem	pitu	wålu	sångå	sepuluh
Tetum	ida	rua	tolu	haat	lima	neen	hitu	ualu	sia	sanulu
Fijian	dua	rua	tolu	vā	lima	ono	vitu	walu	ciwa	tini, -sagavulu
Tongan	taha	ua	tolu	fā	nima	ono	fitu	valu	hiva	-fulu
Samoan	tasi	lua	tolu	fa	lima	ono	fitu	valu	iva	sefulu
Maori	tahi	rua	toru	whā	rima	ono	whitu	waru	iwa	tekau
Hawaiian	kahi	lua	kolu	hā	lima	ono	hiku	walu	iwa	ʻumi

Etymology

Malagasy is the demonym of Madagascar, from which it is taken to refer to the people of Madagascar in addition to their language.

History

Malagasy Bible

Madagascar was first settled by Austronesian peoples from Maritime Southeast Asia from the Sunda Islands (Malay archipelago). As for their route, one possibility is that the Indonesian Austronesian came directly across the Indian Ocean from Java to Madagascar. It is likely that they went through the Maldives, where evidence of old Indonesian boat design and fishing technology persists until the present. The migrations continued along the first millennium, as confirmed by linguistic researchers who showed the close relationship between the Malagasy language and Old Malay and Old Javanese languages of this period. The Malagasy language originates from the Southeast Barito languages, and the Ma'anyan language is its closest relative, with numerous Malay and Javanese loanwords. It is known that Ma'anyan people were brought as labourers and slaves by Malay and Javanese people in their trading fleets, which reached Madagascar by c. 50–500 AD. Later, c. 1000, the original Austronesian settlers mixed with Bantus and Arabs, amongst others. There is evidence that the predecessors of the Malagasy dialects first arrived in the southern stretch of the east coast of Madagascar. Adelaar (2017) proposes that a distinct Malagasy speech community had already been established in South Borneo before the early Malagasy speakers migrated to East Africa.

Malagasy has a tradition of oratory arts and poetic histories and legends. The most well-known is the national epic, Ibonia, about a Malagasy folk hero of the same name.

Geographic distribution

Malagasy is the principal language spoken on the island of Madagascar. It is also spoken by Malagasy communities on neighboring Indian Ocean islands such as Réunion, Mayotte and Mauritius. Expatriate Malagasy communities speaking the language also exist in Europe and North America.

Legal status

The Merina dialect of Malagasy is considered the national language of Madagascar. It is one of two official languages alongside French in the 2010 constitution put in place the Fourth Republic. Previously, under the 2007 constitution, Malagasy was one of three official languages alongside French and English. Malagasy is the language of instruction in all public schools through grade five for all subjects, and remains the language of instruction through high school for the subjects of history and Malagasy language.

Dialects

Ethno-linguistic map of Madagascar

In his 1658 work Histoire de la grande isle Madagascar, Étienne de Flacourt provided one of the earliest known attempts to classify the Malagasy language into dialectal regions. He divided Malagasy into two main dialect groups: northern and southern. He noted significant lexical differences between them — for instance, the word ampela was used in the south to mean "woman" or "girl", while vaiavy was used in the north. Similarly, baba was a northern term for "father", whereas ray was used in the south.

Flacourt also observed phonological variations. He noted similarities between the Tanosy and Antemoro dialects, especially their shared use of the ts sound in words like fotsy ("white"). In contrast, in the Masikoro and Mahafaly dialects, the ts sound is often replaced by t, producing foty for the same meaning.

Malagasy dialects can be divided between Northern dialects, Central-Eastern malagasy, and Southern dialects . Northern malagasy dialects (Kibushi, Northern sakalava, Antakarana, Tsimihety, Northern betsimisaraka) are heavily influenced by Swahili and French language. Northern speakers use o like o in the word "other" which is uncommon to Plateaux and southern dialects which use o as u in "Juan" in Spanish. Southern dialects especially Tandroy, Mahafaly and Karimbola are the most archaic of all malagasy dialects. They can be mistaken to polynesian languages phonetically. Central Eastern subgroup which contains Antesaka,Sahafatra, Southern Betsimisaraka and Plateau dialects which belongs the official malagasy stand in between the two groups. Although considered a single ethnic group, the Sakalava speak at least two distinct dialects. The Southern Sakalava dialect is more closely related to Masikoro, while the Northern Sakalava dialect shares linguistic features with the Tsimihety dialect. The Betsimisaraka also demonstrate internal dialectal variation: the Northern Betsimisaraka dialect is closer to Tsimihety, whereas the Southern variant is more similar to Antambahoaka.

Tree list of Malagasy dialects

• Proto-Malagasy
  • Central-Eastern Malagasic
    • Plateaux Malagasy
      • Merina-Vakinankaratra
        • Merina
          • Standard Malagasy
          • Inner City Merina
        • Vakinankaratra
        • Marofotsy
      • Betsileo
      • Bezanozano
      • Sihanaka
      • Antemoro-Antefasy
        • Sahavoay
        • Antemoro
        • Antefasy
        • Zafisoro
      • Antambahoaka
      • Tanala
    • Sahafatra-Antesaka
      • Antemanambondro
      • Sahafatra
      • Antesaka
    • Southern Betsimisaraka
  • Southern Malagasic
    • Vezo-Sakalava
      • Southern Sakalava
      • Vezo
      • Masikoro
      • Mikea
    • Tandroy
    • Karimbola
    • Mahafaly
    • Bara
    • Antanosy
  • Northern Malagasic
    • Northern Sakalava
      • Kibushi
        • Kibushi Kimaore
        • Kibushi Kiantalaotsy
    • Sakalava Anjoaty
    • Antakarana
    • Tsimihety
    • Northern Betsimisaraka

Comparative Vocabulary of Major Malagasy Dialects

#	Gloss	Northern	Central eastern	Southern
1	One	Araika / Araiky	Iray / Raika / Raiky	Raiky
2	Two	Aroa / Aroe	Roa / Roy	Roa
3	You	Anô	Anao	Iha
4	He/She / Him/Her	Izy	Izy	Ihy
5	Only	Fô	Ihany / Avao	Avao
6	Girl	Manangy / Vaiavy	Vehivavy	Ampela
7	Fire	Môtro	Afo	Afo
8	Earth	Donia	Tany	Tany
9	Little	Hely	Kely	Kely
10	White	Malandy	Fotsy	Foty
11	Black	Jôby	Mainty	Mainty
12	Good	Tsara	Tsara / Soa	Soa
13	Fish	Lôko	Trondro	Fia
14	Face	Sôra	Tarehy	Tarehy
15	Dog	Amboa / Fandroaka	Amboa / Alika	Amboa
16	Love	Fitia	Fitiavana	Fitiava
17	Suffering	Jaly	Fijaliana	Fijalia
18	And	Ndreky	Sy	No
19	Message	Hafatra	Hafatra	Hafatsy
20	To go/come back	Mody	Mody	Moly
21	To sell	Mivarotro	Mivarotra	Mivarotsy
22	Gone	Lôso	Lasa	Lasa

Inspired by Gabriel Ferrand's book "Essai de phonétique comparée du malais et des dialectes malgaches", published in 1909, Glottolog divides Malagasy into two principal dialect zones: Eastern (including Merina) and Western (including Sakalava), with an isogloss running roughly down the central spine of the island. In this model, the southern region is classified as western, while the central plateau and much of the north (excluding the far northern tip) are considered eastern.

This binary classification is now widely viewed as outdated. It overlooks crucial grammatical, phonological, and lexical distinctions among Malagasy dialects. For example, Northern Betsimisaraka shares features with Northern Sakalava, placing it closer to western varieties, while Southern Betsimisaraka remains a typically eastern dialect. Similarly, dialects such as Tanosy, although traditionally grouped in the east, show structural and etymological affinities with western dialects like Bara and Southern Sakalava.

Ethnologue identifies 12 major varieties of Malagasy and treats them as separate languages. It distinguishes between dialects such as Northern and Southern Betsimisaraka, and between Northern and Southern Sakalava, which is a step toward acknowledging internal diversity. However, it still fails to represent the full diversity of the dialect continuum in Madagascar. In reality, more than more than 20 dialects are spoken, many of which are entirely absent from Glottolog and Ethnologue. Dialects such as Sakalava Anjoaty, Karimbola, and Sahavoay are completely neglected.

The following is the classification of Malagasy dialects according to Ethnologue:

The Eastern dialects are:

• Northern Betsimisaraka Malagasy (1,270,000 speakers) – spoken by the Betsimisaraka on the northeastern coast of the island
• Southern Betsimisaraka Malagasy (2,000,000 speakers) – spoken by the Betsimisaraka in the North of the region Vatovavy Fito Vinany.
• Plateau (Merina) Malagasy (10,893,000 speakers) – spoken in the centre of the island.
• Tanosy Malagasy (639,000 speakers) – spoken by the Antanosy people in the south of the island.
• Tesaka Malagasy (1,130,000 speakers) – spoken by the Antaisaka people in the southeast of the island.

The Western dialects are:

• Antankarana Malagasy (156,000 speakers) – spoken by the Antankarana in the northern tip of the island.
• Bara Malagasy (724,000 speakers) – spoken by the Bara people in the south of the island
• Masikoro Malagasy (550,000 speakers) – spoken by the Masikoro in the southwest of the island.
• Sakalava Malagasy (1,210,000 speakers) – spoken by the Sakalava people on the western coast of the island.
• Tandroy-Mahafaly Malagasy (1,300,000 speakers) – spoken by the Antandroy and the Mahafaly people on the southern tip of the island
• Tsimihety Malagasy (1,615,000 speakers) – spoken by the Tsimihety people.

Additionally, the Bushi dialect (41,700 speakers) is spoken on the French overseas territory of Mayotte, which is part of the Comoro island chain situated northwest of Madagascar.

Writing system

Sorabe Malagasy Arabic script

Malagasy version of the Book of Mormon, in Latin script with the letter ô

The language has a written literature going back presumably to the 15th century. When the French established Fort-Dauphin in the 17th century, they found an Arabico-Malagasy script in use, known as Sorabe ("large writings"). This Arabic-derived Sorabe alphabet was mainly used for astrological and magical texts. The oldest known manuscript in that script is a short Malagasy-Dutch vocabulary from the early 17th century, which was first published in 1908 by Gabriel Ferrand though the script must have been introduced into the southeast area of Madagascar in the 15th century.

The first bilingual renderings of religious texts are those by Étienne de Flacourt, who also published the first dictionary of the language. Radama I, the first literate representative of the Merina monarchy, though extensively versed in the Arabico-Malagasy tradition, opted in 1823 for a Latin system derived by David Jones and invited the Protestant London Missionary Society to establish schools and churches. The first book to be printed in Malagasy using Latin characters was the Bible, which was translated into Malagasy in 1835 by British Protestant missionaries working in the highlands area of Madagascar.

The current Malagasy alphabet consists of 21 letters: a, b, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, v, y, z. The orthography maps rather straightforwardly to the phonemic inventory. The letters i and y both represent the /i/ sound (y is used word-finally, and i elsewhere), while o is pronounced /u/ (except in the northern dialects, where it corresponds to /o/). The affricates /ʈʂ/ and /ɖʐ/ are written tr and dr, respectively, while /ts/ and /dz/ are written ts and j. The letter h is often silent. All other letters have essentially their IPA values. The letters c, q, u, w and x are not part of the Malagasy alphabet, but are used in some foreign loanwords.

Mp and occasionally nt may begin a word, but they are pronounced /p, t/.

@ is used informally as a short form for amin'ny, which is a preposition followed by the definite form, meaning for instance with the.

Sorabe alphabet with corresponding Latin Letters

Isolated	Final	Medial	Initial	IPA	Modern Latin
ا‎	ـا‎		ا‎	/ʔ/	-
ب‎	ـب‎	ـبـ‎	بـ‎	/b, ᵐb/	b / mb
ت‎	ـة‎	ـتـ‎	تـ‎	/ts, ⁿts/	ts / nts
ج‎	ـج‎	ـجـ‎	جـ‎	/dz, ⁿdz/	j / nj
ڊ‎	ـڊ‎		ڊ‎	/d/	d
ر‎	ـر‎		ر‎	/r/	r
رّ‎	ـرّ‎		رّ‎	/ɖʳ, ᶯɖʳ, ʈʳ, ᶯʈʳ/	dr / ndr / tr / ntr
س‎	ـس‎	ـسـ‎	سـ‎	/s/	s
ࢋ‎	ـࢋ‎	ـࢋـ‎	ࢋـ‎	/t, ⁿt/	t / nt
ع‎	ـع‎	ـعـ‎	عـ‎	/ŋ/	n̈
غ‎	ـغ‎	ـغـ‎	غـ‎	/g, ᵑɡ/	g / ng
ٯ‎	ـٯ‎	ـڧـ‎	ڧـ‎	/f/	f
ٯّ‎	ـٯّ‎	ـڧّـ‎	ڧّـ‎	/p, ᵐp/	p / mp
ك‎	ـك‎	ـكـ‎	كـ‎	/k, ᵑk/	k / nk
ل‎	ـل‎	ـلـ‎	لـ‎	/l/	l
م‎	ـم‎	ـمـ‎	مـ‎	/m/	m
ن‎	ـن‎	ـنـ‎	نـ‎	/n/	n
و‎	ـو‎		و‎	/v/	v
ه‎	ـه‎	ـهـ‎	هـ‎	/h/	h
ي‎	ـي‎	ـيـ‎	يـ‎	/z/	z

Diacritics

Diacritics are not obligatory in standard Malagasy, except in the case where its absence leads to an ambiguity: tanàna ("city") must have the diacritic to discriminate itself from tanana ("hand"). They may however be used in the following ways:

• ◌̀ (grave accent) shows the stressed syllable in a word. It is frequently used for disambiguation. For instance in tanàna (town) and tanana (hand), where the word that is an exception to the usual pronunciation rules (tanàna) gets an accent. Using the accent on the word that follows the pronunciation rules (tànana) is less common, mainly in dictionaries. (This is very similar to the usage of the grave accent in Italian.)
• ◌́ (acute accent) may be used in
  • very old dictionaries, along with grave accent
  • dialects such as Bara
  • French (Tuléar) and French-spelled (Antsirabé) names. Malagasy versions are Toliara or Toliary and Antsirabe.
• ◌̂ (circumflex) is used as follows:
  • ô shows that the letter is pronounced /o/ and not /u/, in Malagasified foreign words (hôpitaly) and dialects (Tôlan̈aro). In standard Malagasy, ao or oa (as in mivoaka) is used instead.
  • sometimes the single-letter words a and e are written â and ê but it does not change the pronunciation
• ◌̈ (diaeresis) is used with n̈ in dialects for a velar nasal /ŋ/. Examples are place names such as Tôlan̈aro, Antsiran̈ana, Iharan̈a, Anantson̈o. This can be seen in maps from FTM, the national institute of geodesy and cartography.
• ◌̃ (tilde) is used in ñ sometimes, perhaps when the writer cannot produce an n̈ (although ng is also used in such cases). In Ellis' Bara dialect dictionary, it is used for velar nasal /ŋ/ as well as palatal nasal /ɲ/.

Phonology

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i ⟨i, y⟩		u ⟨o⟩
Mid	e ⟨e⟩		o ⟨ô, ao, oa⟩
Open		a ⟨a⟩

After a stressed syllable, as at the end of most words and in the final two syllables of some, /a, u, i/ are reduced to [ə, ʷ, ʲ]. (/i/ is spelled ⟨y⟩ in such cases, though in monosyllabic words like ny and vy, ⟨y⟩ is pronounced as a full [i].) Final /a/, and sometimes final syllables, are devoiced at the end of an utterance. /e/ and /o/ are never reduced or devoiced. The large number of reduced vowels, and their effect on neighbouring consonants, give Malagasy a phonological quality not unlike that of Portuguese.

/o/ is marginal in Merina dialect, found in interjections and loan words, though it is also found in place names from other dialectical areas. /ai, au/ are diphthongs [ai̯, au̯] in careful speech, [e, o] or [ɛ, ɔ] in more casual speech. /ai/, whichever way it is pronounced, affects following /k, ɡ/ as /i/ does.

Consonants

			Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Retroflex	Velar	Glottal
Nasal			m ⟨m⟩		n ⟨n⟩		ŋ ⟨n̈⟩
Plosive and affricate	voiceless	plain	p ⟨p⟩	t ⟨t⟩	ts ⟨ts⟩	ʈʳ ⟨tr⟩	k ⟨k⟩
		prenasal	ᵐp ⟨mp⟩	ⁿt ⟨nt⟩	ⁿts ⟨nts⟩	ᶯʈʳ ⟨ntr⟩	ᵑk ⟨nk⟩
	voiced	plain	b ⟨b⟩	d ⟨d⟩	dz ⟨j⟩	ɖʳ ⟨dr⟩	ɡ ⟨g⟩
		prenasal	ᵐb ⟨mb⟩	ⁿd ⟨nd⟩	ⁿdz ⟨nj⟩	ᶯɖʳ ⟨ndr⟩	ᵑɡ ⟨ng⟩
Fricative	voiceless		f ⟨f⟩		s ⟨s⟩			h ⟨h⟩
	voiced		v ⟨v⟩		z ⟨z⟩
Lateral					l ⟨l⟩
Trill					r ⟨r⟩

The alveolars /s ts z dz l/ are slightly palatalized. /ts, dz, s, z/ vary between [ts, dz, s, z] and [tʃ, dʒ, ʃ, ʒ], and are especially likely to be the latter when followed by unstressed /i/: Thus French malgache [malɡaʃ] 'Malagasy'. The velars /k ɡ ᵑk ᵑɡ h/ are palatalized after /i/ (e.g. alika [alikʲa] 'dog'). /h/ is frequently elided in casual speech.

The reported postalveolar trilled affricates /ʈʳ ᶯʈʳ ɖʳ ᶯɖʳ/ are sometimes simple stops, [ʈ ᶯʈ ɖ ᶯɖ], but they often have a rhotic release, [ʈɽ̊˔ ᶯʈɽ̊˔ ɖɽ˔ ᶯɖɽ˔]. It is not clear if they are actually trilled, or are simply non-sibilant affricates [ʈɻ̊˔ ᶯʈɻ̊˔ ɖɻ˔ ᶯɖɻ˔]. However, in another Austronesian language with a claimed trilled affricate, Fijian, trilling occurs but is rare, and the primary distinguishing feature is that it is postalveolar. The Malagasy sounds are frequently transcribed [ʈʂ ᶯʈʂ ɖʐ ᶯɖʐ], and that is the convention used in this article.

In reduplication, compounding, possessive and verbal constructions, as well as after nasals, fricatives and liquids, 'spirants' become stops, as follows:

Malagasy sandhi

voiced		voiceless
spirant	stop	spirant	stop
v	b	f	p
l	d
z	dz	s	ts
r	ɖʳ (ɖʐ)
		h	k

Stress

Here, stressed syllables are indicated by grave diacritics ⟨à⟩, although these diacritics are normally not used.

Words are generally accented on the penultimate syllable, unless the word ends in ka, tra and often na, in which case they are stressed on the antepenultimate syllable. Secondary stresses exist in even-numbered syllables from the last stressed syllable, when the word has more than four syllables (fàmantàranàndro [ˌfamˌtarˈnandʐʷ] "watch, clock"). Neither prefixation nor suffixation affect the placement of stress.

In many dialects, unstressed vowels (except /e/) are devoiced, and in some cases almost completely elided; thus fanòrona is pronounced [fə̥ˈnurnə̥].

Tonogenesis

According to Penelope Howe in 2019, Central Malagasy is undergoing tonogenesis, with syllables containing voiced consonants are "fully devoiced" and acquire a low tone (/ba/ → [b̥à]), while those containing unvoiced consonants acquire a high tone (/pa/ → [pá]). However, this development appears to not occur in posttonic syllables, and she called it "pitch accent" instead.

Grammar

Word order

Malagasy has a verb–object–subject (VOS) word order:

Mamaky

reads

boky

book

ny

the

mpianatra

student

Mamaky boky ny mpianatra

reads book the student

"The student reads the book"

Nividy

bought

ronono

milk

ho

for

an'ny

the

zaza

child

ny

the

vehivavy

woman

Nividy ronono ho an'ny zaza ny vehivavy

bought milk for the child the woman

"The woman bought milk for the child"

Within phrases, Malagasy order is typical of head-initial languages: Malagasy has prepositions rather than postpositions (ho an'ny zaza "for the child"). Determiners precede the noun, while quantifiers, modifying adjective phrases, and relative clauses follow the noun (ny boky "the book(s)", ny boky mena "the red book(s)", ny boky rehetra "all the books", ny boky novakin'ny mpianatra "the book(s) read by the student(s)").

Somewhat unusually, demonstrative determiners are repeated both before and after the noun ity boky ity "this book" (lit. "this book this").

Verbs

Verbs have syntactically three productive "voice" forms according to the thematic role they play in the sentence: the basic "agent focus" forms of the majority of Malagasy verbs, the derived "patient focus" forms used in "passive" constructions, and the derived "goal focus" forms used in constructions with focus on instrumentality. Thus

• (1) Manasa ny tanako amin'ny savony aho. ("I am washing my hands with soap.")
• (2) Sasako amin'ny savony ny tanako. ("My hands are washed with soap by me.")
• (3) Anasako ny tanako ny savony. ("It is with soap that my hands are washed by me.")

all mean "I wash my hands with soap" though focus is determined in each case by the sentence initial verb form and the sentence final (noun) argument: manasa "wash" and aho "I" in (1), sasako "wash" and ny tanako "my hands" in (2), anasako "wash" and ny savony "soap" in (3). There is no equivalent to the English preposition with in (3).

Verbs inflect for past, present, and future tense, where tense is marked by prefixes (e.g. mividy "buy", nividy "bought", hividy "will buy").

Nouns and pronouns

Malagasy has no grammatical gender, and nouns do not inflect for number. However, pronouns and demonstratives have distinct singular and plural forms (cf. io boky io "that book", ireto boky ireto "these books").

There is a complex series of demonstrative pronouns, depending on the speaker's familiarity with the referent.

The following set of pronouns are the pronouns found in Standard Malagasy. Note: the nominative first person singular pronoun is divided between a long and short form; the long form occurs before a verb (focalized or topicalized subjects) and the short form after a verb. The genitive first and second person pronouns are also divided between long and short forms; the long form occurs if the root ends with anything but [na], [ka*] or [tra]; if the stem ends with [na], the long form also occurs but [na] is deleted; and if the stem ends with [ka*] or [tra], the final vowel of the root is deleted and the short form occurs.

			Nominative	Genitive	Accusative
1st person	singular		izaho/aho	-ko/-o	ahy
	plural	exclusive	izahay	-nay/-ay	anay
		inclusive	isika	-ntsika/-tsika	antsika
2nd person	singular		ianao	-nao/-ao	anao
	plural		ianareo	-nareo/-areo	anareo
3rd person	singular		izy	-ny	antsy
	plural		izy (ireo)	-ny	azy (ireo)

Deixis

Malagasy has a complex system of deixis (these, those, here, there, etc.), with seven degrees of distance as well as evidentiality across all seven. The evidential dimension is prototypically visible vs. non-visible referents; however, the non-visible forms may be used for visible referents which are only vaguely identified or have unclear boundaries, whereas the visible forms are used for non-visible referents when these are topical to the conversation.

Malagasy deixis

		proximal		medial		distal
Adverbs (here, there)	NVIS	atỳ	àto	ào	àtsy	àny	aròa*	arỳ
	VIS	etỳ	èto	èo	ètsy	èny	eròa	erỳ
Pronouns (this, that) (these, those)	NVIS	izatỳ*	izàto*	izào	izàtsy*	izàny	izaròa*	izarỳ*
	VIS	itỳ	ìto	ìo	ìtsy	ìny	iròa*	irỳ
	VIS.PL	irèto		irèo	irètsy	irèny	ireròa*	irerỳ*

Notes:

• Diacritics in deixis are not mandatory in Malagasy.
• Deixis marked by a * are rarely used.

Vocabulary

Malagasy shares much of its basic vocabulary with the Ma'anyan language, a language from the region of the Barito River in southern Borneo. The Malagasy language also includes some borrowings from Sanskrit, Arabic and Bantu languages (especially the Sabaki branch, from which most notably Swahili derives), and more recently from French and English.

Malagasy Words of Sanskrit Origin

#	Gloss	Sanskrit	Standard Malagasy
1	Debt	दोष (doṣa)	Trosa
2	Work	आयास (āyāsa)	Asa
3	Palace / Castle	मण्डप (maṇḍapa)	Lapa
4	Lover	सखी (sakhī)	Sakaiza
5	Arm	संधि (saṃdhi)	Sandry
6	History/Story	तन्त्र (tantra)	Tantara
7	To check	जागरण (jāgaraṇa)	Mizaha (To watch in Northern dialects)
8	Good	आचार (ācāra)	Tsara
9	Month (April-May)	वैशाख (Vaiśākha)	Sakave
10	To judge	विचार (vicāra)	Mitsara
11	Ginger	शृङ्गवेर (śṛṅgaver)	Sakaviro
12	Because	साध्य (sādhya)	Satria
13	Food	अन्न (anna)	Hanina

Malagasy Words of Swahili Origin

#	Gloss	Swahili	Standard Malagasy
1	Ship	Chombo	Sambo
2	Paper	Karatasi	Taratasy
3	Speech	Habary	Kabary
4	Eye	Macho	Maso
5	Clothes	Kanzu	Akanjo
6	Onion	Kitunguu	Tongolo
7	Fable / Story	Ngano	Angano
8	Bedbug	Kunguni	Kongona
9	Backpack / Bag	Kitapu	Kitapo
10	Crocodile	Mamba	Mamba
11	Donkey	Punda	Ampondra
12	Cat	Paka	Saka
13	Cow	Ng’ombe	Omby
14	Chicken	Kuku	Akoho
15	Rice	Vali	Vary
16	White man / European	Wazungu	Vazaha
17	Witch / Sorcerer	Mchawi	Mpamosavy
18	Path / Way / Road	Njia	Dia
19	Indian (South Asian)	Karani	Karana
20	Guest/Foreigner	Wageni	Vahiny
21	Wage/Salary	Gharama	Karama
22	Shiny	ng’ara	Mangirana
23	Mattress	Godoro	Kidoro

Malagasy Words of Arabic and European Origins

Malagasy Word	Dialect	Etymological Source	Original Language	Gloss
Amesa	Antaifasy	Mes	Dutch	Knife
Meso	Antakarana
Mesa	Tanosy
Amely	Antaifasy	Morelle noire	French	Black nightshade
Mely	Bara
Tafasiry	Antaifasy	Tafsīr (تفسير)	Arabic	Tale
Lajoly	Bara	La geôle	French	Jail
Kazaha	Antaifasy	Cassava	English	Cassava
	Antemoro
	Betsileo
Sarisoky	Antaifasy	Soursop	English	Soursop
	Antemoro
Kôpy	Antaifasy	Cup	English	Cup
Jigny	Antaifasy	Jinn (الجنّ)	Arabic	Jinn
	Antemoro
	Tanosy
	Antambahoaka
	Tanala
Tamatesy	Vezo	Tomatoes	English	Tomatoes
	Antaifasy
Zarikô	Northern Betsimisaraka	Haricot	French	Bean
	Antakarana
Lekôly	Antakarana	École	French	School
	Northern Betsimisaraka
	Northern Sakalava
	Tsimihety
Lakilasy	Antemoro	La classe
	Antaifasy
	Antesaka
Sekoly	Betsileo	School	English
	Merina
	Vakinankaratra
Ariary	Standard Malagasy	Rial (ريال)	Arabic	Money
Kabeso	Southern Sakalava	Cabeça	Portuguese	Head
Drala	Vezo	Dollar	English	Money
	Masikoro
Miarahaba	All dialects	Marḥabā (مرحبا)	Arabic	To greet
Basy	All dialects	Busse	Dutch	Gun
Mpingaratse	Tandroy	Espingarda	Portuguese
Malemy	All dialects	Layyin (لَيِّن)	Arabic	Soft

Malagasy contains many words that derive from Malay which have completely different original definitions unlike those of its close relative Ma'anyan:

Meaning	Ma'anyan	Malagasy	Malay etymon
		Word	direct correspondence based on sound change	actual meaning
back	wading	lamosina	lembusir, lambung sisir	back of a slaughtered animal i.e. sirloin (lit. 'flank side')
shoulder	papale	soroka	suduk	spade
finger	kingking	rantsana	rancang	pole, stake
foot	pe'e	tomboka	tumbuk	to pound (of earth, rice)
vulva		tingy	tinggi	high

In 1603, Frederick de Houtman published in Amsterdam the Spraeck ende Woord-boeck inde Maleysche ende Madagaskarsche Talen, which contains a Dutch–Malagasy vocabulary and dialogues. De Houtman had learned Malagasy (Old Northern Betsimisaraka dialect) during his stay at Sainte-Marie and in Antongil Bay. The Malagasy vocabulary probably came from a Malagasy interpreter from these regions, who had spent four years with the Dutch and knew Dutch well. At the same time, in 1603, François Martin de Vitré noted a list of numbers in Southwestern Malagasy (Old Vezo or Old Masikoro) during his passage at Saint-Augustin Bay. Thus, Malay and Malagasy appear side by side in their works suggesting similarities.

Numbers in Old Malagasy (Southern and Northern in 1603)

#	Gloss	Martin de Vitré (Saint-Augustin Bay, 1603)	Frederick de Houtman (Saint-Marie & Antongil Bay, 1603)	Standard Malagasy
1	one	Issa	Issa / Areick	Isa/Iray
2	two	Roue	Roo	roa
3	three	Tello	Tello	telo
4	four	Effad	Efferts	efatra
5	five	Lime	Dimi	dimy
6	six	Enning	Ennin	enina
7	seven	Fruto	Fitoe	fito
8	eight	Vvoulo	Wallou	valo
9	nine	Siday	Sivy	sivy
10	ten	Faule	Foelou	folo
20	twenty		Roo poelo	roapolo
21	twenty-one		Roo poelo areick	iraika ambin’ny roapolo
22	twenty-two		Roo poelo roo	roa ambin’ny roapolo
23	twenty-three		Roo poelo tello	telo ambin’ny roapolo
24	twenty-four		Roo poelo efferts	efatra ambin’ny roapolo
25	twenty-five		Roo poelo dimi	dimy ambin’ny roapolo
26	twenty-six		Roo poelo ennin	enina ambin’ny roapolo
27	twenty-seven		Roo poelo fitoe	fito ambin’ny roapolo
28	twenty-eight		Roo poelo wallou	valo ambin’ny roapolo
29	twenty-nine		Roo poelo sivy	sivy ambin’ny roapolo
30	thirty		Tello poelo	telopolo
40	forty		Effert poelo	efapolo
50	fifty		Dimy poelo	dimampolo
60	sixty		Ennin poelo	enimpolo
70	seventy		Fitou poelo	fitopolo
80	eighty		Wallou poelo	valopolo
90	ninety		Sivy poelo	sivifolo
100	hundred		Siatou	zato
1000	thousand		Heetsi	arivo

Collected Lexical Items by Houtman (Old Northern Malagasy)

#	Gloss	Old Northern Malagasy (Saint-Marie & Antongil Bay, 17th c.)	Standard Malagasy
1	You	Hannau	Anao
2	Ship	Laccan	Lakana
3	Here (past)	Tetoeu	Teto
4	To buy	Mevydy	Mividy
5	What	Innou	Inona
6	Water	Rano	Rano
7	Rice	Varre	Vary
8	Cow	Agombe	Omby
9	Honey	Tintelly	Tantely
10	We	Iahye	Izahay
11	Where are you from?	Lehataja nou?	Avy aiza anao?
12	Person	Ouloun	Olona
13	Far away	Labebey	Lavitra be
14	What's the name of the country?	Innou angarre tany?	Inona ny anaran'ny tany?
15	Our country is called Holland	Tany ney magebey Hollant	Holandy no anaran'ny taninay
16	Copper	Brahing	Varahina
17	Silver	Pellan	Volafotsy
18	Knife	Kissou	Antsy
19	Thief	Ampangalats	Mpangalatra
20	Merchant	Ampevarots	Mpivarotra
21	Leave that there	Avyla uw kony	Avelao eo
22	Night	Alin	Alina
23	Tomorrow	Hamerein	Rahampitso
24	God	Iang hary	Zanahary
25	All	Aby	Rehetra
26	Us	Atsiken	Isika
27	White/European	Vajaha	Vazaha
28	Goat	Osse	Osy
29	Milk	Rononne	Ronono
30	How much the oxen?	Firy n'ya agombe?	Ohatrinona ny omby?
31	Little	Hele	Kely
32	Cheap	Mora	Mora
33	Your boat	Ny-laccan hannau	Ny lakanao
34	Horn	Tandock	Tandroka
35	Why	Nahoen	Nahoana
36	To say/tell	Mevoullang	Miteny
37	Ear	Souffing	Sofina
38	Nose	Oroen	Orona
39	Dead	Naty	Maty
40	High/On top	Angambo	Ambony
41	Sick	Marare	Marary
42	Long	Lava	Lava
43	Short	Fohy	Fohy
44	Bad	Rratsy	Ratsy
45	Crazy	Lefack	Marary saina
46	White	Foetsy	Fotsy
47	When	Oviene	Oviana
48	Lemurian	Warck	Varika
49	Axe	Feck	Famaky
50	Penis	Latack	Lataka
51	Blood	Ra	Rà
52	Breast	Nounou	Nono
53	Powder	Vanja	Vanja
54	Dark	Mey sing	Maizina
55	Angry	Vingirt	Tezitra
56	To dream	Mang'noffy	Manonofy
57	King	Ampenjacke	Mpanjaka
58	Tired	Ballack	Vizana
59	Good	Tsara	Tsara
60	Egg	Atoulou / Atoelou	Atody
61	Island	Nossey	Nosy
62	Rain	Orang	Orana
63	Huge	Iackebey	Lehibe
64	Happy	Ravo	Faly
65	Neck	Wojong	Tenda
66	Hand	Tang'an	Tanana
67	Hair	Wullo	Volo
68	Bow/Crossbow	Faly	-
69	South	Antemoo	Atsimo
70	Chicken	Akoho	Akoho
71	Shark	Ansansa	Antsantsa
72	House	Tsangou	Trano
73	Skin	Hoedits	Hoditra
74	Yes	Iee	Eny / Ye
75	Steel	Wy	Vy
76	Wife	Vady	Vady
77	Child	Iaja	Zaza
78	Cheek	Feef	Fify
79	Year	Tawon	Taona
80	Spear	Liffong	Lefona
81	Light	Maivang	Maivana
82	Sky	Langits	Lanitra
83	Virgin	Mitouvoo	-
84	Moon	Voelan	Volana
85	Man	Lelahy	Lehilahy
86	Skinny	Mah'ia	Mahia
87	Mother	Renni	Reny
88	To watch/look at	Mijaha	Mijery
89	Nail	Vajangkoho	Hoho
90	To sell	Mandof	Mivarotra
91	Saved	Awotto	Avotra
92	To climb	Makats	Miakatra
93	Prince	Annack adien	Anakandriana
94	Pot	Balangi	Vilany
95	To learn	Mienjatsi	Mianatra
96	Spider	Fararets	-
97	Dry	Maeying	Maina
98	Red	Meynja	Mena
99	Rat	Vella vou	Voalavo
100	Fat	Mattavi	Matavy
101	Sweet	Mamy	Mamy
102	To count	Mangisa	Manisa
103	Sun	Masso anro	Masoandro
104	Afraid	Matahots	Matahotra
105	Mortar	Leong	Leona
106	Tooth	Niffy	Nify
107	Yesterday	Maddy	Omaly
108	Letter	Soerat	Soratra
109	To close	Afoedy	Ahidy
110	To wait	Mandingy	Miandry
111	Father	Ray	Ray

Richard Boothby, in his 1646 work A Brief Discovery or Description of the Most Famous Island of Madagascar, or St. Laurence, recorded several words from the inhabitants of Saint Augustine’s Bay (in present-day Toliara). The language spoken in that region is now classified as part of the Vezo dialect, which belongs to the Southern Malagasic dialect cluster—likely representing an early form of Proto-Vezo.

Comparative Vocabulary of St Augustine Bay Language (Boothby, 1646) and Standard Malagasy

#	Gloss	St Augustine Bay (Boothby, 17th c.)	Standard Malagasy
1	good	Chara	tsara
2	rope	Talle	tady
3	cloth	Lomba	lamba
4	lance	Leffo	lefona
5	tomorrow	Humeray	ampitso
6	salt	Syra	sira
7	palm of hand	Fala tanga	felatanana
8	tongue	Leela	lela
9	ear	Saffe	sofina
10	eye	Maca	maso
11	hair	Voyla	volo
12	shoulder	Sowkee	soroka
13	back (body)	Lemboshe	lamosina
14	butt	Voylee	vody
15	breast	Noeno	nono
16	hand	Tanga	tanana
17	teeth	Niffa	nify
18	chin	Soca	saoka
19	cow	Angomba	omby

François Cauche travelled mostly in Southern Madagascar in the regions inhabited by the Antanosy, Mahafaly, and Antandroy (Ampatres), but also briefly along the eastern coast among the Antaimoro (Matatane) and around Antongil Bay (Northern Betsimisaraka). He collected mostly vocabulary from the south, where he carried out the majority of his commercial exchanges. He is the first to record conversations in Malagasy, probably from Southern and Eastern Malagasy varieties, necessary for communication and trade. His observations and vocabulary were later published in Relations véritables et curieuses de l'isle de Madagascar par François Cauche, et du Brésil in 1651.

Numbers in Old Southern Malagasy (Cauche, 1651)

#	Gloss	Old Southern Malagasy (Cauche, 17th c.)	Standard Malagasy
1	one	Is	iray
2	two	ro	roa
3	three	tel	telo
4	four	ef	efatra
5	five	lime	dimy
6	six	enne	enina
7	seven	fuite	fito
8	eight	vale	valo
9	nine	cive	sivy
10	ten	foule	folo
11	eleven	Iray manifoule	iraika ambin’ny folo
12	twelve	ro manifoule	roa ambin’ny folo
13	thirteen	tel manifoule	telo ambin’ny folo
14	fourteen	ef manifoule	efatra ambin’ny folo
15	fifteen	lime manifoule	dimy ambin’ny folo
16	sixteen	enne manifoule	enina ambin’ny folo
17	seventeen	fuite manifoule	fito ambin’ny folo
18	eighteen	vale manifoule	valo ambin’ny folo
19	nineteen	cive manifoule	sivy ambin’ny folo
20	twenty	ropoule	roapolo
21	twenty-one	ropoule irai cambiombe	Iraika ambin'ny roapolo
22	twenty-two	ropoule ro cambiombe	roa ambin'ny roapolo
23	twenty-three	ropoule tel cambiombe	telo ambin'ny roapolo
30	thirty	Tel poule	telopolo
40	forty	ef poule	efapolo
50	fifty	lia poule or lime poule	dimampolo
60	sixty	enne poule	enimpolo
70	seventy	fuite poule	fitopolo
80	eighty	vale poule	valopolo
90	ninety	cive poule	sivifolo
100	one hundred	zat	zato
200	two hundred	rozat	roanjato
300	three hundred	telzat	telonjato
400	four hundred	efsat	efajato
500	five hundred	lime zat	dimanjato
600	six hundred	ennezat	eninjato
700	seven hundred	fuite zat	fitonjato
800	eight hundred	vale zat	valonjato
900	nine hundred	cive zat	sivinjato
1000	one thousand	Arrive or Irecarive	arivo
2000	two thousand	roarive	roa arivo

Collected Lexical Items by Cauche (Old Southern Malagasy)

#	Gloss	Old Southern Malagasy (Cauche, 17th c.)	Standard Malagasy
1	Canoe	Lacque	Lakana
2	Oil	Menach	Menaka
3	Red	Mene	Mena
4	Chicken	Acoo/acoho	Akoho
5	Fish	Fuie	Trondro
6	Rope	Tali	Tady
7	We	Zahai	Izahay
8	You (sing.)	Anno	Ianao
9	Cat	Pise	Saka
10	Dog	Ambo	Alika
11	Crazy	Maulle	Adala
12	Butter	Menacronon	Dibera
13	Anymore	Sasse	Intsony
14	Thin	Mahie	Mahia
15	Fat	Manesse	Matavy
16	Smelly	Mahibou	Maimbo
17	Afraid	Mattao	Matahotra
18	Person	Oule	Olona
19	Sun	Massuandre	Masoandro
20	Evening	Massuandre matte	Hariva
21	Hungry	Rez	Noana
22	Hot	Maye	Mafana
23	Cold	Manarre	Mangatsiaka
24	Little	Massessaie	Kely
25	Big	Croute baye	Lehibe
26	Good / Beautiful	So	Tsara
27	To cry	Toumangre	Mitomany
28	To sleep	Mandre	Matory
29	To drink	Minon	Misotro
30	To eat	Hyne	Mihinana
31	Steel	Vie	Vy
32	Bread	Moufe	Mofo
33	Silver	Voulafouche	Volafotsy
34	Gold	Voulameno	Volamena
35	Stone	Vate	Vato
36	Wind	Harre	Rivotra
37	Up / Above	Ambonne	Ambony
38	Tree	Aze	Hazo
39	Rum	Cique af	Toaka
40	Wine	Ciq	Divay
41	Sky	Arro	Lanitra
42	Earth	Tanne	Tany
43	Water	Ranne	Rano
44	Cold water	Ranne mangasi	Rano mangatsiaka
45	Fire	Affe	Afo
46	Spirit	Zin	Fanahy
47	Heart	Foo	Fo
48	Foot	Tambou	Tongotra
49	Tits	Nonne	Nono
50	Liver	Atte	Aty
51	Belly	Trou	Kibo
52	Hands	Tangue	Tanana
53	Butt/Ass	Fourin	VodY
54	Neck	Vouze	Tenda
55	Tooth	Nife	Nify
56	Tongue	Lelle	Lela
57	Mouth	Vave	Vava
58	Nose	Orre	Orona
59	Eye	Masse	Maso
60	Ear	Soufe	Sofina
61	Hair	Voule	Volo
62	Head	Loha	Loha
63	I / Me	Zaa	Izaho
64	He/She/It	Ize	Izy
65	Him/She/It	Ize	Izy
66	Meat	Hen	Hena
67	Too / Also	Coo	Koa
68	Dead	Matte	Maty
69	Tomorrow	Amaray	Ampitso
70	Morning	Empice	Maraina
71	Egg	Attoule	Atody

A small Malagasy–French vocabulary compiled by Étienne de Flacourt, former Governor of the French settlement at Fort-Dauphin (Tolagnaro), was published in Paris in 1658. It is the first printed work to include prayers in Malagasy. Flacourt likely contributed to the dictionary and a catechism prepared by the Lazarist Fathers, whom he later presented to the future Saint Vincent de Paul.

Comparative Vocabulary of 17th Century Southern Malagasy (Flacourt) and Standard Malagasy

#	Gloss (English)	Old Southern Malagasy (Anosy,Mid-17th c.)	Standard Malagasy	Arabic / Swahili
1	Wine	Siche	Divay	Khamr (خمر)
2	Face	Lahatse / Tarehy	Tarehy	-
3	Theft	Fangalatse / Halatra	Halatra	-
4	To live	Mienghe	Miaina	-
5	Alive	Vellom	Velona	-
6	City / Village	Tanaha	Tanana	-
7	Old	Antetse	Antitra	-
8	Victory	Fanressehan	Fandresena	-
9	Clothes	Tsichine	Akanjo	-
10	Green	Mahitsou	Maintso	-
11	Stick	Anghira	Tsorakazo	-
12	Belly	Troc	Kibo	-
13	To sell	Mivarots	Mivarotra	-
14	Seller	Ompivarots	Mpivarotra	-
15	Wave	Mouza	Onjana	mawja (موجة)
16	To kill	Mamounou	Mamono	-
17	To find	Mahita	Mahita	-
18	A lot	Lohatse	Loatra	-
19	Earthquake	Hourouhourounitane	Horohoron-tany	-
20	Work	Hassa	Asa	-
21	To cut	Manapa	Manapaka	-
22	Betrayal	Fitacq	Fitaka	-
23	All	Abi	Avi	-
24	Early	Sahali	Sahady	-
25	Thunder	Varats	Varatra	-
26	Head	Loha	Loha	-
27	Tamarind	Montémonte	Voamadilo	-
28	On	Ambone	Ambony	-
29	South	Acimou	Atsimo	-
30	Sugarcane	Fare	Fary	-
31	Frequently	Matetech	Matetika	-
32	Suffering	Fiharets	Fijaliana	-
33	Witch / Sorcerer	Ompamousavé	Mpamosavy	-
34	To dream	Mahinouf	Manonofy	-
35	Solitude / Loneliness	Fitocan	Fitoka-monina	-
36	Sun	Massouandrou	Masoandro	-
37	Thirsty	Hettehette	Hetaheta	-
38	Only	Avau	Ihany	-
39	Alone	Irere / Iraiky	Irery	-
40	Salt	Sira	Sira	-
41	Dry	Mahé	Maina	-
42	Scorpion	Hala	Hala	-
43	To jump	Mamoca	Mambikina	-
44	To bleed	Mandevorha	Mandeha ra	-
45	Sand	Fasso	Fasika	-
46	Rice	Vare	Vary	-
47	Laughter	Hehé	Hehy	-
48	To return	Mipoulé	Miverina	-
49	Shark	Antsantsa	Antsantsa	-
50	To meet	Mifahita	Mihaona	-
51	To refuse	Mandaha	Mandà	-
52	Root	Foton / Vahan	Faka	-
53	What's this?	Hinne iou?	Inona io?	-
54	Who	Izo	Iza	-
55	Question	Fanghotaneia	Fanontaniana	-
56	Deep	Lalen	Lalina	-
57	To pray	Mkabiry	Mivavaka	Kabir (كبير)
58	To testify	Misahada	Mijoro vavolombelona	Yashhadu(شهد)
59	Wet	Lay	Lena	-
60	Dead	Mate	Maty	-
61	To bite	Manifats	Magnekitry	-
62	Sir	Roandria / Ranghandria	Andriamatoa	-
63	To threaten	Michinia	-	-
64	Bad	Ratsi	Ratsy	-
65	Medicine	Auli	Fanafody	-
66	To marry	Manambali	Manambady	-
67	Marie	Ramariama	Masina Maria	Maryam
68	Wedding	Fanambalian	Fanambadiana	-
69	Merchant	Ompivarotse	Mpivarotra	-
70	Misfortune	Vouhy	Voina	-
71	But	Fa	Fa	-
72	Bad	Ratsi	Ratsy	-
73	Hand	Tang	Tanana	-
74	Sick	Marre	Marary	-
75	Skiny	Mahiia	Mahiia	-
76	To settle	Monengh	Monina	-
77	Place	Touhere	Toerana	-
78	Lesson	Anatse	Anatra / Lesona	-
79	Tongue	Lela	Lela	-
80	Ugly	Ratsi	Ratsy	-
81	Milk	Ronono	Ronono	-
82	Language	Voulanh	Fiteny	-
83	Make	Tsianach	Farihy	-
84	There	Irocq	Io / Iroa (rare)	-
85	Day	Anrou	Andro	-
86	Happiness	Haravouan	Haravoana	-
87	Ever / Never	Tsiare / Insatse	Intsony	-
88	Jesus	Rahissa	Jesosy	Issa
89	Insult	Ompa	Ompa	-
90	Island	Nossi	Nosy	-
91	Here	Atoua	Ato	-
92	This	Itouy	Ito / Ity	-
93	Outside	Avella	Ivelany	-
94	Oil	Menach	Menaka	-
95	Owl	Vouroundoule	Vorondolo	-
96	Above / On	Ambone	Ambony	-
97	Axe	Feche	Famaky	-
98	Fat	Vonrac	Matavy	-
99	Gun	Ampigaratsebato	Basy	-
100	Fruit	Boa	Voankazo	-
101	River	Onghe	Renirano	Ayn (عين)
102	Fire	Afou	Afo	-
103	To flee	Milefa	Mitsoaka	-
104	Behind	Afara	Aoriana	-
105	To embark	Manhondra	Mitondrana	-
106	Equal	Mira	Mira	-
107	Image	Tsara	Sary	ṣūra(صورة)
108	Water	Ranou	Rano	-
109	Sweet	Mami	Mamy	-
110	To sleep	Mande	Mandry	-
111	In front of	Aloha	Aloha	-
112	Debt	Trousse	Trosa	-
113	Tooth	Nifi	Nify	-
114	Already	Lahame	Sahady	-
115	Tomorrow	Amarai	Rahampitso	-
116	Damned	Kafiry	Voaozona	-
117	To believe	Meinou	Mino	yu’minu (آمن)
118	Knife	Mes / Antsi	Antsy	-
119	Chest	Sandouc	Kesika	-
120	Key	Fanghalahilli	Fanalahidy	-
121	Sky	Langhits	Lanitra	-
122	Dog	Amboua	Alika	-
123	Horse	Farassa	Soavaly	-
124	Hot / Warm	Mahe	Mafana	-
125	Shirt	Camise	Lobaka	Qamis (قميص)
126	Cat	Pise	Saka	-
127	Camel	Angammerre	Rameva	Jammal (جمل)
128	Ring	Ampete	Peratra	Pete
129	Balance	Midza	Mizana	mīzān (ميزان)
130	With	Aman	Sy	-
131	Also	Coua	Koa	-

Numerals in 17th Century Southern Malagasy (Flacourt) and Standard Malagasy

#	Gloss	Old Southern Malagasy (Anosy, Mid-17th c.)	Standard Malagasy
1	One	Iraiche / Issa	Iray / Isa
2	Two	Roué / Rohi	Roa
3	Three	Tellou	Telo
4	Four	Efats	Efatra
5	Five	Limi	Dimy
6	Six	Enem	Enina
7	Seven	Fitou	Fito
8	Eight	Valou	Valo
9	Nine	Sivi	Sivy
10	Ten	Foulo	Folo
11	Eleven	Iranamanifoulo / Iracamanifoulo	Iraika ambin'ny folo
12	Twelve	Roé amanifoulo	Roa ambin'ny folo
13	Thirteen	Tellou amanifoulo	Telo ambin'ny folo
14	Fourteen	Effats amanifoulo	Efatra ambin'ny folo
15	Fifteen	Limi amanifoulo	Dimy ambin'ny folo
16	Sixteen	Enem amanifoulo	Enina ambin'ny folo
17	Seventeen	Fitou amani foulo	Fito ambin'ny folo
18	Eighteen	Valou amani foulo	Valo ambin'ny folo
19	Nineteen	Civi amani foulo	Sivy ambin'ny folo
20	Twenty	Ropoul	Roapolo
25	Twenty-five	Ropoul limi ambi	Dimy amby roapolo
30	Thirty	Tellopoul / Teloupoulou	Telopolo
40	Forty	Efatte poul / Effats poulo	Efapolo
50	Fifty	Liapoulo	Dimampolo
60	Sixty	Enempoul	Enimpolo
70	Seventy	Fitoupoul	Fito-polo
80	Eighty	Valoupoul	Valopolo
90	Ninety	Civifoulo	Sivifolo
100	One hundred	Zatou	Zato
150	One hundred fifty	Liapoul ambi Zatou	Dimampolo ambin'ny zato
500	Five hundred	Limizatou	Dimanjato
650	Six hundred fifty	Enem zatou inra liapoul	Dimampolo sy enin-zato
700	Seven hundred	Fitou Zatou	Fito zato
1,000	Thousand	Arrivou	Arivo
10,000	Ten thousand	Foulo Arrivou	Iray halina
100,000	One hundred thousand	Zatou Arrivou	Iray hetsy
1,000,000	Million	Ala	Tapitrisa

Robert Drury, an English sailor who spent 15 years in southern Madagascar (including Androy, Fierenana, now known as Tulear, and Menabe), collected a vocabulary of southern Malagasy words as spoken in the early 1700s, which he published in his memoirs, Madagascar, or Robert Drury's Journal, in 1729 with the assistance of Daniel Defoe.

Numbers in Southern Malagasy (Drury), Early 18th Century

#	Gloss	Old Southern Malagasy (Androy, Fierenana & Menabe, Early 18th c.)	Standard Malagasy
1	one	Eser	Isa / Iray
2	two	Roaa	Roa
3	three	folu	telo
4	four	effuchts	efatra
5	five	deeme	dimy
6	six	eanning	enina
7	seven	feeto	fito
8	eight	varlo	valo
9	nine	seve	sivy
10	ten	folo	folo
13	thirteen	folotaluambe	telo ambin'ny folo
15	fifteen	folodeeme amby	dimy ambin'ny folo
17	seventeen	folofeetoambe	fito ambin'ny folo
20	twenty	roaafolo	roapolo
25	twenty-five	rowafolo deeme amby	dimy ambin'ny roapolo
30	thirty	talofolo	telopolo
35	thirty-five	Talofulo deeme amby	dimy ambin'ny folo
40	forty	effuch folo	efapolo
45	forty-five	effuchfolo deeme amby	dimy amby efapolo
50	fifty	deemefolo	dimampolo
55	fifty-five	deemefolo deeme amby	dimy amby dimampolo
60	sixty	ennig folo	enimpolo
65	sixty-five	ennig folo deeme amby	dimy amby enin-polo
70	seventy	feeto folo	fitopolo
75	seventy-five	fetofolo deeme amby	dimy amby fitopolo
80	eighty	varlofolo	valopolo
85	eighty-five	varlofolo deeme amby	dimy amby valopolo
90	ninety	sevefolo	sivifolo
95	ninety-five	seveefolo deeme amby	dimy amby sivifolo
100	hundred	zawto	zato
600	six hundred	eanning zawto	enin-jato
700	seven hundred	feeto zawto	fito zato
800	eight hundred	varlozawto	valo zato
1000	thousand	arevo	arivo
6000	six thousand	eanning arevo	enina arivo
7000	seven thousand	feeto arevo	fito arivo
8000	eight thousand	varlo arevo	valo arivo

Comparative Vocabulary of Southern Malagasy (Robert Drury, early 1700s) and Standard Malagasy

#	Gloss	Southern Malagasy (Drury, early 18th c.)	Standard Malagasy
1	South	Ateemo	Atsimo
2	Ship	Sambo	Sambo
3	Soft	Merlemma	Malemy
4	Sky	Longitchs	Lanitra
5	King	Panzaccar	Mpanjaka
6	Good	Suer	Tsara
7	Bad	Rawtche	Ratsy
8	To buy	Mevele	Mividy
9	Rope	Tolle	Tady
10	Cold	Merninchy	Mangatsiaka
11	Child	Annack	Zaza
12	Cloud	Rawho	Rahona
13	Cat	Chacker	Saka
14	Lance	Luffu	Lefona
15	Tongue	Leller	Lela
16	Teeth	Neefa	Nify
17	Sand	Fasse	Fasika
18	Salt	Serrer	Sira
19	Sugar	Serermame	Siramamy
20	Sweet	Marme	Mamy
21	White man	Verzarhar	Vazaha
22	Wet	Lay	Lena
23	Egg	Tule	Atody
24	Knife	Messu	Antsy
25	Ant	Vetick	Vitsika
26	Dark	Myeak	Maizina
27	Eye	Mossu	Maso
28	Foot	Feendeer	Tongotra
29	Fish	Feer	Trondro
30	Friend	Lonego	Namana
31	White	Fute	Fotsy
32	What ?	Eno	Inona?
33	This	Toe	Ity / Izao
34	Pistol	Plato	Poleta
35	People	Olo	Olona
36	Neck	Voozzo	Vozona
37	Moon	Vooler	Volana
38	Milk	Ronoonu	Ronono
39	Man	Loyhe	Lehilahy
40	Million	Arrla	Arivo
41	Tomorrow	Hummerwha	Rahampitso
42	Mouse	Varlarvo	Voalavo
43	Night	Aulla	Alina
44	North	Avarruchs	Avaratra
45	Net	Arratto	Harato
46	Little	Kala	Kely
47	Low	Eever	Ambany
48	Knife	Messu	Antsy
49	Horse	Suvaller	Soavaly
50	How many ?	Fera ?	Firy?
51	Hatchet	Fermackey	Famaky
52	To hear	Merray	Mihaino
53	Run	Lomoy	Mihazakazaka
54	Spoon	Suto	Sotro
55	Fat	Vonedruck	Matavy
56	Full	Fenu	Feno
57	To speak	Mevolengher	Miteny / Mivolana
58	Crow	Quark	Goaika
59	Belly	Troke	Kibo
60	Bitter	Merfaughts	Mangidy
61	Bullet	Buller	Bala
62	Bone	Towler	Taolana
63	Bread	Moffu	Mofo
64	Call	Kyhu	Miantso
65	Ear	Sofee	Sofina
66	Gun	Ampegaurrutchs	Basy
67	East	Teenongher	Atsinanana
68	Garment	Sekey / Lamber	Akanjo / Lamba
69	Small	Merlinnick	Madinika
70	Sea	Reac	Ranomasina
71	Scissors	Hette	Hety
72	Spider	Morrotongher	Hala
73	West	Andreffer	Andrefana
74	Sunday	Alhaida	Alahady
75	Monday	Alletinine	Alatsinainy
76	Tuesday	Tallorter	Talata
77	Wednesday	Alareerbeer	Alarobia
78	Thursday	Commeeshe	Alakamisy
79	Friday	Jummor	Zoma
80	Saturday	Sarbueche	Asabotsy

During his visit to Madagascar, Le Gentil recorded several Malagasy words, chiefly in use in the northeastern regions — particularly Antongil Bay, Sainte-Marie and Foulpointe — as well as in Fort-Dauphin. He did not provide details regarding the dialect spoken in Fort-Dauphin, mentioning only differences in greetings. His work focused primarily on the northern dialect in his book Voyage dans les mers de l'Inde, published in 1781. Le Gentil resided in Madagascar on three occasions, in 1761, 1762, and 1763.

Words in Old Malagasy Collected by Le Gentil (Southern and Northern, 1760s)

#	Gloss	Le Gentil (Anosy, 1760s)	Le Gentil (Saint-Marie,Foulpointe & Antongil Bay, 1760s)	Standard Malagasy
1	Good morning	Salama	Finar tanao	Salama
2	Good	Soüa	Sara	Tsara
3	Money		Vola	Vola
4	Girl		Cala	Zazavavy
5	What’s new?		Acor cabar ?	Inona ny vaovao ?
6	Nothing new		sis-cabar / sis	Tsisy vaovao / tsisy
7	I am fine		pola-sara
8	Water		ranou	rano
9	Sea		ranou-masse	ranomasina
10	White		Foutchy	Fotsy
11	Silver sand		pacem-bola	fasimbola
12	Foot		Oung	Tongotra
13	Big / Huge		bé	be
14	Many		marou	maro
15	Bad		ratchi	ratsy
16	A lot		marou-bé	marobe
17	Ox		aombé	omby
18	White / European		Vasa	Vazaha

Claude Bernard Challan compiled a vocabulary in the 18th century with the help of two Malagasy slaves, primarily collecting words from central and eastern Madagascar, especially Betsimisaraka and Merina. According to Linah Ravonjiarisoa, this edition is richer and more modern, and it includes, for the first time in translation, a sample of Merina words.

In 1773, the Royal Printing House of Mauritius published his work as Challan, Claude Bernard (Abbot), Vocabulaire malgache distribué en deux parties : La première : françois et malgache – la seconde : malgache et françois, which constitutes the very first Malagasy–French and French–Malagasy dictionary.

Numbers in Old Malagasy Isle de France (Challand),18th Century

#	Gloss	18th Century Malagasy (Challand, Isle de France)	Standard Malagasy
1	one	Rec	Iray
2	two	Roué	Roa
3	three	Télou	Telo
4	four	Effat	Efatra
5	five	Dimi	Dimy
6	six	Henne	Enina
7	seven	Fitou	Fito
8	eight	Valou	Valo
9	nine	Civi	Sivy
10	ten	Polou	Folo
11	eleven	Polou rec ambé	Iraika ambin’ny folo
12	twelve	Polou roué ambé	Roa ambin’ny folo
13	thirteen	Polou télou ambé	Telo ambin’ny folo
14	fourteen	Polou effat ambé	Efatra ambin’ny folo
15	fifteen	Polou dimi ambé	Dimy ambin’ny folo
16	sixteen	Polou henne ambé	Enina ambin’ny folo
17	seventeen	Polou fitou ambé	Fito ambin’ny folo
18	eighteen	Polou valou ambé	Valo ambin’ny folo
19	nineteen	Polou civi ambé	Sivy ambin’ny folo
20	twenty	Roué polou	Roapolo
25	twenty-five	Roué polou dimi ambé	Dimy amby roapolo
30	thirty	Télou polou	Telopolo
40	forty	Effat polou	Efapolo
50	fifty	Dimi polou	Dimampolo
60	sixty	Henne polou	Enimpolo
70	seventy	Fitou polou	Fitopolo
80	eighty	Valou polou	Valopolo
90	ninety	Civi polou	Sivifolo
100	one hundred	Zatou	Zato
101	one hundred one	Zatou rec ambé	Iray amby zato
115	one hundred fifteen	Zatou polou dimi ambé	Dimy ambin’ny folo amby zato
200	two hundred	Roué zatou	Roa zato
300	three hundred	Télou zatou	Telo zato
400	four hundred	Effat zatou	Efatra zato
500	five hundred	Dimi zatou	Diman-jato
600	six hundred	Henne zatou	Enin-jato
700	seven hundred	Fitou zatou	Fito zato
800	eight hundred	Valou zatou	Valo zato
900	nine hundred	Civi zatou	Sivy zato
1000	one thousand	Arrive	Arivo
5000	five thousand	Dimi arrive	Dimy arivo
10000	ten thousand	Polou arrive	Folo arivo

Comparative Vocabulary of 18th Century Isle de France (Challand) Malagasy and Standard Malagasy

#	Gloss (English)	18th Century Malagasy (Challand, Isle de France)	Standard Malagasy
1	Hot	Mafanne	mafana
2	Cat	Saca	saka
3	Goat	Bingue	osy
4	Sky	Lanhits / Languets	lanitra
5	Lemon	Vouangue	voasary (voasarimakirana)
6	Chest / Trunk	Vata	vata
7	How	Acore	ahoana
8	Crow	Gouaque	Goaika
9	Rope	Tade	tady
10	To run	Mihazacazac	mihazakazaka
11	Knife	Quiche / Messou	antsy
12	Toad	Boucaette	sahona
13	Frog	Sahon	sahona
14	Spoon	Sourouc / Sorbolla	sotro
15	To give birth	mamaitte	miteraka
16	Steel	Sitily	vy
17	Needle	Filou	fanjaitra
18	Spider	Farorats	fanala
19	Plate	Capilla	lovia
20	Stick	Anguira	Tsorakazo
21	Low / Bottom	Iva	ambany
22	Good / Well	Sara	tsara
23	White	Foutchi	fotsy
24	White European	Vaza	vazaha
25	Ox / Beef	Ahombé	omby
26	Good morning/How are you ?	Finarts	manao ahoana
27	Belt	Ette	fehikibo
28	How many	Phiri	firy
29	God	Zaanhar	Zanahary
30	Medicine	Fangafoudi	fanafody
31	Equal	Mieran	mitovy
32	Devil	Belitch	devoly
33	Iron	Vi	vy
34	Woman / Wife	Veavi / Ampela	vehivavy
35	Axe	Afamaqué	famaky
36	Yellow	Hazac	mavo
37	He / She	Isi	izy
38	Day	Androu	andro
39	Sick	Mararé / Manguélo	marary
40	Bad	Ratchi	ratsy
41	Sea	Ranoumasse	ranomasina
42	Honey	Tintely	tantely
43	Noon / Midday	Antou androu	atoandro
44	Me / I	Zaho	izaho / aho
45	Month	Volanne	volana
46	Mountain	Vohitz	vohitra / tendrombohitra
47	Mister / Sir	Roandrian	Andriamatoa
48	Dead / Death	Maté	maty
49	Black	Maenti	mainty
50	To swim	Milouman / Mandaoun	milomano
51	We / Us	Zahaye	izahay / isika
52	Chili / Pepper	Saceye	sakay
53	Fish	Loc	trondro
54	Door	Tamianne / Varavanguene	varavarana
55	When	Ovienne / Ouvienne	oviana
56	Something	Raha	zavatra
57	What	Inou	inona
58	Who	Zové / Zovi	iza
59	Root	Vahatz	faka
60	Rice	Var	vary
61	Sand	Facinne	fasika
62	Dry	Mayn	maina
63	Evening	Arive	hariva
64	Sorcerer / Witch	Ampamousavé	mpamosavy
65	Sugar	Ciramamé	siramamy
66	Tobacco	Tanbac / Nicotiana	Paraky
67	You (singular)	Hano	ianao
68	Suitcase / Luggage	Vatha	valizy
69	Belly / Stomach	Votac / Quibou	kibo
70	You (plural)	Hanareo	ianareo
71	Mother	Nini	reny / neny
72	Fool / Mad	Maoli / Addal / Leffac	adala
73	Angel	Oulis	anjely
74	Demon	Angatz	Demony
75	Devil	Belich	Devoly
76	Wine	Toc	Divay
77	Vinegar	Matsicou	Vinaigitra

In 1816, Barthélemy Huet de Froberville compiled several major manuscripts documenting the Malagasy language in Île de France (present-day Mauritius). Although never printed, these works—particularly his French–Malagasy dictionary—were later instrumental in the development of Malagasy linguistic studies. In 1833, J. Dumont d’Urville published an extract from Froberville’s Great Dictionary without acknowledging him as the author. Froberville’s work inspired missionary efforts to update a new dictionary in the dialect spoken mostly in Imerina, which was later published in 1835 as the first English–Malagasy dictionary and is closer to modern-day standard Malagasy.

Comparative Vocabulary of Early 19th Century Isle de France (Froberville) Malagasy and Standard Malagasy

#	Gloss (English)	Froberville (Isle de France, 1816)	Standard Malagasy
1	Man	Lahe	Lehilahy
2	Human	Hulu / Ouloun	Olona
3	Woman	Ampelle / Vave	Vehivavy
4	Father	Rai / Amproi / Baba	Ray
5	Mother	Nin / Rini / Ampoindr	Reny
6	Son	Zana Dahe	Zanakalahy
7	Children	Anak / Zenak	Zanaka
8	Brothers	Royloyhe / Analahe	Rahalahy / Analahy
9	Ant	Vitsik	Vitsika
10	White	Foutsi	Fotsy
11	Gun	Pingaratch / Ampigaratch / Ampigaratsi	Basy
12	You (Singular)	Hanau / Hano / Ano	Anao
13	You (Plural)	Anareo / Hanareo	Anareo
14	To Buy	Mividi	Mividy
15	Prophet	Antou Moua	Mpaminany
16	When	Ouvi	Oviana
17	Question	Fang Hontania	Fanontaniana
18	To Refuse	Mandaha	Mandà
19	Period (Woman)	Aret Andilou	Fadim-bolana
20	Water	Ranou	Rano
21	Knife	Kisch / Fandili / Kissou / Antsi / Mes / Messou	Antsy
22	Chicken	Akoho Vavai	Akoho
23	Cow	Ahomb / Anghomb	Omby
24	Cat	Pisl / Saka	Saka
25	Dog	Amboa / Amboua / Kiva	Alika
26	To Choose	Mifidi / Mifili	Mifidy
27	Circumcised	Mifora	Mifora
28	Sky	Langhits / Langhetch / Lanits	Lanitra
29	Pig	Lambou	Kisoa
30	Rope	Tadi / Tali	Tady
31	Crow	Gouakh	Goaika
32	To Run	Mihazak Azak / Miloumaï	Mihazakazaka
33	To Sing	Missa / Mibabou	Mihira
34	Vagina	Tingui/fouri	Fory
35	Spider	Farouratch	Fanala
36	Wood	Hazou / Kakazou	Hazo
37	Red	Mena	Mena
38	Pot	Vilagni	Vilany
39	Prostitute	Ompanheira	Mpivarotena
40	Easy	Mora	Mora
41	Leaf	Raven Kazou	Ravin-kazou
42	Fire	Afo / Mote / Langourou	Afo
43	Slave	Andevou / Dzama	Andevo
44	Thorn	Fatsi / Roui	Tsilo
45	Sword	Antsivir	Sabatra
46	Erection	Mitanghets	Dangitra
47	Liquor	Tok / Touokh / Touakh / Tokaraf	Toaka
48	Behind	Arian / Afara	Aoriana
49	Axe	Feka / Afa Makhe	Famaky
50	Siren	Zavav Andranou	Zazavavindrano
51	Every Day	Andrakala / Isandrou	Isanandro
52	Demon	Angatz	Demony
53	Church	Trangho Fissandrian	Fiangonana
54	Ghost	Sakar / Anghats	Matotoa
55	Stitch	Taretch	Tarehitra
56	To Fuck	Milela	Milely
57	To Flee	Milefa	Mitsoaka
58	Boy	Kolahe / Lalahe Mitovou	Zazalahy
59	Spoon	Sotrouk / Amanghab	Sotroka
60	Stick	Anghira / Kibaï	Kobay
61	Belt	Hetch	Fehikibo
62	Equal	Mira	Mira
63	Black	Mintin	Mainty
64	Root	Vahatr / Vahats / Fouton	Faka / Fototra
65	Sugar	Sira Mam	Siramamy
66	Angel	Malaingka / Koukou Lampou / Oulis / Dzini	Anjely
67	Wheat	Var Vazaha / Trigo	Varimbazaha
68	Seashore	Amourou Dranou Massin	Amoron-dranomasina
69	Bottle	Tawang	Tavohangy
70	Sheep	Berekh / Ahondre / Angondri Vave	Ondry
71	To burn	Mang Hourou / Mahi	Mandoro / May

Comparative Vocabulary of Malagasy in the 1835 English–Malagasy Dictionary by J. J. Freeman and Modern Malagasy

#	Gloss (English)	Freeman (Imerina, 1835)	Modern Malagasy
1	Man	Lehilahy	Lehilahy
2	Thorn	Tsilo	Tsilo
3	Prostitute	Mpiangy / Mpijejojejo	Mpivaro-tena
4	Alphabet	Abidy	Abidy
5	Boots	Behoty	Baoty
6	Bribe	Tambitamby / Kolikoly	Kolikoly
7	Conversation	Tafasiry	Resaka
8	Angel	Iraka / Anjely	Anjely
9	Angry	Tezitra / Vinitra	Tezitra
10	Apple	Apoly	Paoma
11	Butter	Rononomandry	Dibera
12	Carrot	Karoty	Karoty
13	Christian	Kiristiana	Kristianina
14	To Climb	Miakatra / Mianikia	Miakatra / Mianika
15	To Close	Mandrindrina	Manidy
16	Cold	Mangatsiaka / Manara / Mangitsy	Mangatsiaka
17	Color	Volony	Loko
18	Divorce	Fisaoram-bady	Fisaraham-panambadiana
19	Duck	Vorombazaha / Ganagana	Ganagana
20	Dwarf	Botry / Zeny	—
21	Ejaculation	Tora-paza / Vavaka fohifohy	Mandefa tsirinaina
22	Fork	Fisondrona / Fitrebikia	Forosety
23	Fornication	Filambehivavy / Fijanganjangana	Fijanganjangana
24	Fragile	Malia / Malemy	Malemy
25	Fruit	Voankazo	Voankazo
26	Gas	Gasy	Entona fandrehitra
27	Ginger	Sakamalao	Sakamalao / Sakaviro
28	Gun	Basy	Basy
29	Horse	Soavaly	Soavaly
30	How	Manao akory / Akory / Manao ahoana / Ahoana	Ahoana
31	Dog	Amboa / Alikia	Alika
32	Medicine	Ody / Fanafody	Fanafody
33	Middle	Afovoany / Tenatenany	Afovoany
34	Million	Tapitrisa	Tapitrisa
35	Needle	Fanjaitra / Filou	Fanjaitra
36	Oil	Solikia	Menaka
37	One	Iray / Iraikia	Iray
38	Owl	Vorondolo	Vorondolo
39	Ox	Omby	Omby
40	Paint	Loko	Loko
41	Polygamy	Famporafesana	Fampirafesana
42	Potato	Ovim-bazaha	Ovy
43	Poverty	Alahelo	Fahantrana
44	Priest	Mpisorona	Pretra
45	Purple	Manato	Volomparasy
46	Ragamuffin	Olondratsy	Jiolahy
47	Rebel	Mpiodina	Mpikomy
48	Rebellion	Fiodinana	Fikomiana
49	Here	Etikatra / Etoakatra / Etoana / Eto	Eto / Ety
50	Judge	Andriambaventy	Mpitsara
51	English	Angilisy	Anglisy
52	There	Ary / Arikitra / Erikitra / Ery	Ary
53	Musket	Bedohaka	—
54	Bayonet	Benitra	—
55	Enough	Etsaka	—
56	Goose	Gisy	Gisa
57	Razor	Hareza	Hareza
58	This / These	Ity / Itikitra / Itony	Ity
59	That / Those	Itsy / Itsiakatra / Itsiana	Itsy
60	Syphilis	Kibainjatovo	—
61	Old Man	Rangahy	—
62	Fat	Sabora	Zabora
63	Torn	Rota / Rovitra	Rovitra
64	Soap	Savoha / Savony	Savony
65	Last Year	Taonitsy	Taon-dasa
66	Female Servant	Vadifady	—
67	Smile	Vanikia	—
68	Seal	Kase fanavandoko	Kase	—
69	Soldier	Sorodany / Miaramila	Miaramila
70	Sweetheart	Sakaiza / Vazo	Sakaiza
71	Toilet	Fiankajoana	—
72	Twitter	Mikiaka	—
73	To beat	Mandaboka	Mandaroka

Lexicography

Malagasy lexicon (1773) (Collection BULAC Paris)

The first dictionary of the language is Étienne de Flacourt's Dictionnaire de la langue de Madagascar published in 1658 though earlier glossaries written in Arabico-Malagasy script exist. A later Vocabulaire Anglais-Malagasy was published in 1729. An 892-page Malagasy–English dictionary was published by James Richardson of the London Missionary Society in 1885, available as a reprint; however, this dictionary includes archaic terminology and definitions. Whereas later works have been of lesser size, several have been updated to reflect the evolution and progress of the language, including a more modern, bilingual frequency dictionary based on a corpus of over 5 million Malagasy words.

• Winterton, M. et al.: Malagasy–English, English–Malagasy Dictionary / Diksionera Malagasy–Anglisy, Anglisy–Malagasy. Raleigh, North Carolina. USA: Lulu Press 2011, 548 p.
• Richardson: A New Malagasy–English Dictionary. Farnborough, England: Gregg Press 1967, 892 p. ISBN 0-576-11607-6 (Original edition, Antananarivo: The London Missionary Society, 1885).
• Diksionera Malagasy–Englisy. Antananarivo: Trano Printy Loterana 1973, 103 p.
• An Elementary English–Malagasy Dictionary. Antananarivo: Trano Printy Loterana 1969, 118 p.
• English–Malagasy Phrase Book. Antananarivo: Editions Madprint 1973, 199 p. (Les Guides de Poche de Madagasikara.)
• Paginton, K: English–Malagasy Vocabulary. Antananarivo: Trano Printy Loterana 1970, 192 p.
• Bergenholtz, H. et al.: Rakibolana Malagasy–Alemana. Antananarivo: Leximal/Moers: aragon. 1991.
• Bergenholtz, H. et al.: Rakibolana Alemana–Malagasy. Antananarivo: Tsipika/Moers: aragon. 1994.
• Rakibolana Malagasy. Fianarantsoa: Régis RAJEMISOA – RAOLISON 1995, 1061 p.

See also

• Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo
• Languages of Madagascar

Sources

• Biddulph, Joseph (1997). An Introduction to Malagasy. Pontypridd, Cymru. ISBN 978-1-897999-15-8.
• Houlder, John Alden, Ohabolana, ou proverbes malgaches. Imprimerie Luthérienne, Tananarive 1960.
• Hurles, Matthew E.; et al. (2005). "The Dual Origin of the Malagasy in Island Southeast Asia and East Africa: Evidence from Maternal and Paternal Lineages". American Journal of Human Genetics. 76 (5): 894–901. Bibcode:2005AmJHG..76..894H. doi:10.1086/430051. PMC 1199379. PMID 15793703.
• Ricaut et al. (2009) "A new deep branch of eurasian mtDNA macrohaplogroup M reveals additional complexity regarding the settlement of Madagascar", BMC Genomics.

External links

• Malagasy-English, English–Malagasy bilingual frequency dictionary
• Large audio database of Malagasy words with recorded pronunciation
• Searchable Malagasy–French–English Dictionary/Translator
• Malagasy–English Dictionary
• Malagasy–French dictionary
• Malagasy Swadesh list of basic vocabulary words (from Wiktionary's Swadesh-list appendix)
• Malagasy Vocabulary List (from the World Loanword Database)
• La Bible Malgache en texte intégral – the complete text of the 1865 Malagasy Bible
• List of references on Malagasy language (with links to online resources).
• Oxford University: Malagasy Language
• Paper on Malagasy clause structure