PLT ISO 639-3
Malagasy, Merina
Malagasy, Malagasy ôfisialy Autonym
A language of Madagascar
- ISO 639
- plt
- Alternate Names
- Ambaniandro, Borizano, Borizany, Fiteny Malagasy, Hova, Malagasy fiteny, Malgache, Official Malagasy, Plateau Malagasy, Standard Malagasy, Teny ôfisialy
- Autonym
- Malagasy, Malagasy ôfisialy
- Population
- 7,520,000 in Madagascar (2011 SIL). Total users in all countries: 7,546,100.
- Location:
- Antanarivo and Fianarantsoa provinces; Mahajanga province: Betsiboka region.
- Language Status
- 1 (National). Statutory national language (2010, Provisional Constitution, Article 6), use limited in higher education.
- Classification
- Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Greater Barito, East, Malagasy
- Dialects
- Merina, Betsileo, Sihanaka, Bezanozano, Tanala, Vakinankaritra, Zafimaniry. Reportedly the most similar language outside Madagascar is Ma’anyan [mhy] in south Borneo (Kalimantan, Indonesia). A member of macrolanguage Malagasy [mlg].
- Typology
- VOS; prepositions; noun head initial; definite article; verb affixes mark person, number; active, passive and circumstantial voices; tense; causatives; 29 consonants, 5 vowels, 3 diphthongs; non-tonal; stress on penultimate syllable; inclusive/exclusive pronouns.
- Language Development
- Fully developed. Bible: 1835–2011.
- Language Resources
- OLAC resources in and about Malagasy, Merina
- Writing
- Braille script [Brai]. Latin script [Latn], primary usage.
- Other Comments
- The standard is most similar to the Merina dialect, with loans incorporated from Bantu languages, Swahili [swh], Arabic, English, French. Traditional religion, Christian, Muslim.
Also Spoken in
- Location
- Scattered.
- Language Status
- 5 (Dispersed)
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. Traditional religion, Christian, Muslim. View other languages of Comoros
Language Name
Malagasy
User Population
2,000 in Comoros (2018).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Mauritius
Language Name
Malagasy
User Population
1,300 in Mauritius (Leclerc 2018c).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Réunion
Language Name
Malagasy
User Population
22,800 in Réunion (2017).
Map
Location: Antanarivo and Fianarantsoa provinces; Mahajanga province: Betsiboka region.
Size and Vitality
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