Malagasy language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Malagasy |
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| Native to | Madagascar, Comoros, Mayotte | |||
| Native speakers | 18 million (2007) | |||
| Language family |
Austronesian
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| Writing system | Latin script (Malagasy alphabet) Malagasy Braille |
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| Official status | ||||
| Official language in |  Madagascar |
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Malagasy is a unique language spoken mainly in Madagascar. It belongs to the Austronesian language family. This means it's related to languages like Indonesian, Javanese, and Māori.
It's thought that people from Indonesia traveled to Madagascar long ago, bringing their language with them. This happened until about the year 1400 AD. Malagasy is special because it's the only Austronesian language spoken in Africa!
How Malagasy is Written
Malagasy uses an alphabet similar to English. However, it doesn't use the letters c, q, u, w, or x. Also, you won't find any special marks (like accents) on the letters.
The current writing system was created by David Jones. It replaced an older script called Sorabe, which was a type of Arabic writing. Most letters in Malagasy are pronounced like their sounds in the IPA. But there are a few differences. For example, both 'y' and 'i' sound like the 'ee' in "see." The letter 'h' is often silent, too. You will also see some letter pairs, called consonant digraphs, like 'tr', 'dr', and 'ts'.
Common Malagasy Words
Here are some useful words in Malagasy:
- Manoa ahoana - Hello
- Veloma - Goodbye
- Nenibe - Grandmother
- Dadabe - Grandfather
Images for kids
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A Bible written in Malagasy.
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An example of Sorabe, an older Arabic script used for Malagasy.
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The Malagasy version of the Book of Mormon, written in Latin script.
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A Malagasy dictionary from 1773.
See also
In Spanish: Idioma malgache para niños
