Sihanaka dialect
| Sihanaka | |
|---|---|
| Native to | |
| Ethnicity | Sihanaka |
Native speakers | 695,000 [1] |
Austronesian
| |
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | mg |
| ISO 639-3 | plt |
| Glottolog | siha1244 |
| Linguasphere | 31-LDA-ab |
Sihanaka is a dialect of Malagasy[2] spoken by Sihanaka people in the region of Lake Alaotra.[3][4]
Classification
[edit]Sihanaka is an austronesian language part of Central-Eastern Malagasic [5] and part of the Plateau branch of Malagasy language alongside with Merina, Antefasy,Antemoro, Tanala and Betsileo.
Characteristics
[edit]The Sihanaka dialect is considered an older form of Merina, retaining broader and more provincial features. While largely intelligible with Merina, it preserves vocabulary now obsolete in Imerina, such as mivony ("to hide") and manjary ("beautiful" or "proper").[6]
Demonstrative prefixes like tak- and ak- are still used in Sihanaka, as in other dialects of the Northern Malagasy group (e.g., Tsimihety, Northern Betsimisaraka), as well as in Southern Betsimisaraka. In contrast, Merina has lost these prefixes.
Sihanaka also shares the word agnambo for "up / above" with Tsimihety, Northern Betsimisaraka, and Southern Betsimisaraka, while Merina uses ambony.[7]
| Gloss | Central-Eastern Malagasic | Northern Malagasic | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Without prefix | With prefix | With prefix | |||
| Merina | Sihanaka | Southern Betsimisaraka | Northern Betsimisaraka | Tsimihety | |
| In (present moment) | ato | akato | akato | akato | akato |
| In (past moment) | tato | takato | takato | takato | takato |
| In (general location) | ao | akao | akao | akao | akao |
| On (surface) | eo | akeo | akeo | akeo | akeo |
| Here | eto | aketo | aketo | aketo | aketo |
| There (general location) | any | akagny | akagny | akagny | akagny |
| There (past location) | tany | takagny | takagny | takagny | takagny |
| There (recently passed spot) | teo | takeo | takeo | takeo | takeo |
| Then (after that moment) | avy eo | avy akeo | avy akeo | avy akeo | avy akeo |
| Spatial Lexicon | |||||
| Up / above | ambony | agnambo | agnambo | agnambo | agnambo |
Territorial Range
[edit]In the Alaotra-Mangoro Region of Madagascar, the Sihanaka dialect is chiefly spoken within three districts — Ambatondrazaka District, Amparafaravola District, and Andilamena District — which together form the historical heartland of the Sihanaka people. It is also the most commonly spoken dialect in the city of Ambatondrazaka.[8][9]
Vocabulary
[edit]| # | Gloss | Standard Malagasy | Sihanaka |
|---|---|---|---|
| Numbers & Pronouns | |||
| 1 | One | Iray | Raika |
| 2 | Him / His | Azy | Ananzy |
| 3 | They / Them | Ireo / Zareo | Zareo |
| People & Identity | |||
| 4 | Woman / Girl | Vehivavy | Viavy |
| 5 | His name | Anarany | Agnarany |
| 6 | We call her Hasinah | Hasinah no iantsoana azy | Hasinah agnantsonvangnan'azy |
| Nature & Food | |||
| 7 | Mango | Manga | Voamanga |
| 8 | Sweet potato | Voamanga | Tsimanga |
| 9 | Papaya | Papay | Mampazo |
| 10 | Pineapple | Mananasy | Manasy |
| 11 | Goyava | Goavy | Gavo |
| Objects & Qualities | |||
| 12 | Thing | Zavatra | Ràha |
| 13 | Quality / Personality | Toetra | Toatra |
| 14 | Huge | Ngezabe | Gedabe |
| Space & Place | |||
| 15 | Here | Eto | Aketo |
| 16 | There | Eo | Akeo |
| 17 | In | Ao | Akao |
| 18 | In / Inside | Anaty | Agnaty |
| 19 | Above | Ambony | Agnambo |
| 20 | In the house | Ao an-trano | An-dragno |
| Time & Frequency | |||
| 21 | Always | Foana | Foagna |
| 22 | Then | Avy eo | Avy takeo |
| 23 | Till when | Hatramin'oviana | Katram'oviana |
| Questions | |||
| 24 | What | Inona | Ino |
| 25 | How | Ahoana | Anakôry |
| Actions | |||
| 26 | To hear | Maheno | Maregny |
| 27 | Don’t fear | Aza matahotra | Aza matahatra |
References
[edit]- ^ "PeopleGroups.org - Sihanaka of Madagascar". peoplegroups.org.
- ^ "The Antananarivo Annual and Madagascar Magazine". The Antananarivo Annual and Madagascar Magazine (4): 124. 1878.
- ^ "The Sihanaka of Madagascar: God Speaks in Our Language - Wycliffe Bible Translators USA Homepage". www.wycliffe.org.
- ^ Molet, Louis (1957). Petit guide de toponymie malgache (PDF) (in French). Tananarive: Scientific Research Institute of Madagascar, Department of Human Sciences. pp. map (unnumbered) + p. 8.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link) The map is placed before the numbered pages. - ^ Cust, Robert Needham (1878). A Sketch of the Modern Languages of the East Indies (Reprint 2013 ed.). Routledge. p. 71. ISBN 9780415245012.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - ^ "The Antananarivo Annual and Madagascar Magazine". The Antananarivo Annual and Madagascar Magazine. 1 (1‑3). Press of the London Missionary Society (Antananarivo): 58. 1875.
- ^ Jacques Dez, Cheminements linguistiques malgaches au-delà des grammaires usuelles, 1990, p. 111.
- ^ "Bilan & évaluation des projets de conservation des sols de la région de Lac Alaotra" (PDF). Open‑Library (CIRAD). Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ Ferrand, Gabriel (1909). Essai de phonétique comparée du malais et des dialectes malgaches: thèse pour le doctorat d'université, présentée à la Faculté des lettres de l'Université de Paris (in French). Paris: Paul Geuthner. p. XL.