Malagasy language

“ As with many peoples of lively imagination, but who have had no literature, the Malagasy are, as a rule, ready and fluent speakers, and many of them have considerable oratorical powers. The native language is pleasant and musical in its sounds, full of vowels and liquids, and free from all harsh and guttural utterances; and the mental habits of the people induce a great amount of illustration in their ordinary speech, which is full of proverbs and similes. ”

“ Hence the rule: when n or m in the body of a word (not a compound) is followed by another consonant, the n or m is the closing letter of the preceding syllable. With this one exception all syllables end in a vowel.
As n will combine only with d, g, h, and t, and m only with b or p, the only combinations of consonants allowable in the Malagasy language are the following:—
⁠dr, dz (or j) . ”

“ The Malagasy Verb has three voices, the active, the passive, and the relative; each voice has only two moods, the indicative and the imperative; and each mood has the three simple tenses, present, past and future. No changes are made for gender, number, or person. ”

“ Some of the amusements of the Malagasy are quite curious. The wife in saluting her husband, or the slave his master, on his return from war or from a journey, crawls on the ground and licks his feet.
One of their common amusements is to form themselves into two parties in order to abuse each other in the most violent language that their imaginations can invent; and those who excel in the most abusive vituperation, obtain the plaudits of the spectators. ”

“ Fòny refers to the past; as, fòny tsỳ mbòla àry nỳ tàny, 'when the earth was not yet created'. Nòny implies a succession of events. Dìeny implies something passing away; as, dìeny mbòla tanòra hìanào, 'while you are still young'. There are three peculiarities noticeable with regard to Malagasy conjunctions: viz.—
1. They are often in couples; as, àry dìa; fà satrìa. 2. The same word often has to serve for several conjunctions ”

“ In writing, all Malagasy words are written in full, except when the first of two words is a noun followed by its possessive case, or a verb in the passive or relative voice followed by its agent.
In speaking, each vowel must be clearly pronounced, because often a single vowel is the only means of distinction between two words dissimilar in meaning. Examples:—
An elision occurs in speaking usually when a final a, not accented, precedes a word beginning with any other vowel; also when final o precedes a word beginning with o. ”

“ TABLE OF ADJECTIVE FORMS.
The scarcity of true adjectives in the Malagasy language is supplied in various ways, viz. by the free use of verbs as adjectives or participles, as already said; by the use of words which are verbal in form but practically adjectives; as, vavàna (root vàva) , talkative, literally 'mouthed'. ”

“ But even in these cases the accent still rests on the antepenult, in accordance with the apparently invariable rule for all pure Malagasy words, that the accent must never be further from the end of a word than the antepenult. ”

“ It must be borne in mind that the Malagasy had no written language before mission work was commenced by the London Missionary Society in the interior of Madagascar about sixty years ago. They had, therefore, no books, or manuscripts, or inscriptions, so that all the “unwritten literature”—if we may so call it—which has recently come to light, in the shape of proverbs, oratorical adornments of speech, songs, legends, nursery stories, and folk-tales, has been preserved, up to about five years ago, solely in MS. or tradition. ”

“ It has been justly remarked that “the proverbial sayings [of the Malagasy] present the fullest exhibition of the grade of mind among the people, both intellectually and morally.”
Two years later, Mr. Cousins published another small volume of 58 pp., containing twenty-six Kabàry or royal and other speeches and proclamations, dating from 1787 to 1872. These public addresses are not only of considerable interest as historical documents, but they have a great value as preserving archaic words and obsolete or obsolescent forms of construction, and thus throwing important light upon the language. ”

“ The Hòva became the dominant tribe from the beginning of the 19th century; they appear to be the latest immigrants, and are the lightest in colour; and they are also the most intelligent and civilized of all the peoples inhabiting the island.
The most striking proof of the virtual unity of the inhabitants of Madagascar is that substantially but one language is spoken over the whole country. The Malay affinities of Malagasy were noted in the 16th century ”

“ A prohibition is expressed, not by the imperative mood, as in many languages, but by the indicative mood preceded by àza. In this case the verb (in the indicative) may belong to any of the three voices. Ex.: àza mitèny hìanào, 'do not speak. (N.B.—As there is no exact equivalent for the verb "to be" in Malagasy, àza may be used prohibitively with adjectives also; thus, àza tèzitra hìanào, 'do not (be) angry.') ”

“ African: a sub-dialect of Kaffir.
Makua, Makoa.
African: dialect of Kaffir, belonging to the Mozambique; also called Monju and Muntu. H. C.
Malabari.
Dravidian: the same language as Malayalim; but there are local variations. See Vocaby. in Hunter’s “Comp. Dicty.”
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Malagasy.
The native language of Madagascar, a large island off the S.E. coast of Africa; it is a Polynesian compound, comprising elements from the Bali, Javanese, Nias, and Toba; the language and people are called Malagash; the native term for the island is Nosindambo, “wild-boar island.” The Hovas are the dominant race. ”

“ There are also in Malagasy the following common personal prefixes, i, ri, ra, ray, ilày (ilèy, ilèhy) , and andrìana. Of these, i and ra, though generally prefixed to proper nouns, are sometimes prefixed to common nouns used as names of persons; as, ivàdinào, 'your wife'; ralèhilàhy, 'the (or, that) man'. ”

“ We all felt much out of the world in Madagascar. To 145the great world which we had left, the trade, the government, and the people of the island, are linked by very slender ties. The Malagasy know very little of foreign lands: few understand the English language and the condition and affairs of England. Those who have been to England have not felt free to tell what they saw: in former days it would have been dangerous to tell it: for to depreciate Madagascar by showing the superiority of other countries was neither more nor less than high treason. Knowledge is increasing among them ”

“ As there is no reflexive pronoun in Malagasy, tèna (body) is used for self; as, namòno tèna ìzy, 'he killed himself'.
The Rule for attaching the suffix pronouns to any word is as follows:— (1) For words not ending in -na, -ka, or -tra; attach the full form of the suffixed pronoun, without contraction. (2) For words ending in -na, -ka, or -tra; if the accent is on the antepenult, take one or other of the contracted forms of the suffixed pronouns, and either throw away or shorten their last syllable. If the accent is on the penult, either the full or the contracted forms may be used ”

“ Their language presents a good deal of difference from the Hova form of Malagasy, both in vocabulary and in pronunciation, yet the groundwork and the grammar is essentially the same. They are more nomadic in habit than the Hovas, breaking up their villages at the death of any of its inhabitants, and not cultivating rice like most Malagasy tribes, but subsisting largely on manioc root, bananas, fish and vegetables. ”

“ The government of cases by Malagasy verbs is often puzzling, because, while many verbs govern direct accusatives, others require the preposition àmy to be inserted between them and the cases they govern; while others, again, have both constructions. ”

“ The number of houses amounts to 1327: and the entire population reaches probably to ten thousand. The Hova element is very strong. The Indian adults are about fifty. There are a few Sákalávas in both towns: and the African slaves, universally called by the Malagasy “Mojambikas,” are very numerous. Their skin is very dark: and they have thick lips and curling hair. But they are not pure negroes. They belong to various tribes on the east coast of Africa, who all understand more or less the Swahili language.
The port of Mojangá has long been known to history. ”

“ It will be observed how large a number of figures there is in these few sentences; some of the allusions are explained in foot-notes, but other points are somewhat obscure to those unacquainted with the habits and customs of the Malagasy.
Many of the shorter of these “flowers of oratory” have the sententious forms of the proverbs; and others take the shape of a conversation between imaginary persons, whose names often afford a key to the sentiments they express. The language readily lends itself to such coinage of names ”

“ By certain active verbs, which contain a prepositional force and govern a direct accusative, where in English they would need a preposition; as, mandaìnga àzy, 'to tell a lie to him'; milàza àzy, 'to tell about him,' (but milàza àminy, 'to tell to him') . 3. The relative voice of a verb often contains a prepositional force; as, nìtondràny ràno àho, 'I was the person (in respect) to whom he brought water'. 4. Many Malagasy verbs govern two accusatives, which in English would require a preposition before one of them ”

“ A convincing proof of this is afforded by the language which is current amongst all the tribes, of whatever race, from one end of the island to the other. Whether they be of Negro, Arab, Indian, or Malay descent, all the Malagasy jKJoples speak a pliant, poetic, and melodious tongue, which careful philological research has clearly shown to be related to tlie great linguistic family spread over the whole of the Eastern Archipelago and the Polynesian islands. ”

“ When the language was mastered, and reduced to writing, the first task the missionaries undertook was the translation of the Scriptures. Here lies the radical distinction between Protestant and Roman Catholic missionaries. The former always give the people as soon as possible the Word of God in their own tongue; the latter never give it. There have been Roman Catholic missionaries in various parts of Madagascar since 1641; but they have never yet translated the Scriptures into Malagasy, and are not likely to do so. When the missionaries had translated and printed the Gospel of St. ”

“ The Malagasy are a people who are still, as it were, but in the gristle, and not yet hardened into the bone of manhood. As a people they cannot originate anything, but they are great imitators, and they are also much readier to imitate the bad than the good. There is not much that is original in them, as a people, except ‘original sin,’ and of that virus they have a fair share. Overgrown children, they were attracted by what was sensational—especially in preaching—but not nearly so much by the tinsel in religion as might have been expected. ”

“ By what race Madagascar was first peopled it is no longer possible to say. The local reports or traditions of primitive peoples, either extinct or still surviving in the interior, belong rather to the sphere of Malagasy folklore than to that of ethnological research. ”

“ There are pure Africans in abundance (as we shall see) scattered about in certain districts on the west, imported through the Arab slave trade. And that African element has tainted the original Malagasy race. But no original and distinct tribe on the island has yet been pointed out as long settled 170African colonists: much less can the entire Malagasy people be identified with such a tribe. On the contrary the three great divisions of the Malagasy hold together; embrace almost the entire island ”

“ I have come into close enough contact with them to be able to affirm that they have accepted loyally and without any reservation the actual condition of affairs, that they work for the pacification of minds, and that they solicit only one favour—to be able to continue their work in peace, not with a political end in view, which they have never followed, but with the aim of converting the Malagasy people. They have spontaneously offered the French government their most devoted co-operation, and with their thousands of converts they represent a force morally incomparable. ”

“ It begins by casting reflections upon our work in Madagascar. We are told that the British missionaries have never done anything for the Malagasy, except to teach them to sing a few hymns and make hypocrites of them! We are seriously asked to believe that the Malagasy owe all their knowledge of civilization, and of the various arts and handicrafts of civilization, to a French sailor, who was wrecked on the coast of the island, found his way up to the capital, and there became the very intimate friend (or more, as some French writers maintain) of Rànavàlona I, the persecuting queen. ”

“ In certain respects its form differed from what I looked for: the outward civilisation of the Malagasy was less advanced. But the tide of Chrstian life through all the Central Provinces and its offshoots was flowing wider, deeper, stronger than I had imagined. The Christian renovation of the Malagasy people is truly the work of God; and by the direct use of his own instruments, the teaching of the Word, the bestowment of gracious gifts, and the discipline of sorrow, the Holy Ghost has long been leading, not individuals only, but multitudes of the nation toward himself. ”

“ The Malagasy people who inhabit the island appear to be a single race, notwithstanding some tradition about “dwarfs.” Nowhere do we find any tribe or clan or race in any secluded corner of the land, (such as we meet with in the hill districts of India, of Sumatra and Borneo) , totally different from the inhabitants of the plains or open provinces. Nor do we meet with any portion of the people specially degraded below their fellows as a conquered and despised race. ”