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CONCISE GEAMMAE
MALAGASY LANGUAGE.
G. W. PARKER.
LONDON :
TRUBNER & CO., 57 and 59, LUDGATE HILL.
1883.
[_All rights reserved.']
LONDON :
PRINTED BY GILBERT AND RIVIXGTON, LIMITKD,
ST. JOHN'S SQUARE.
P3
PREFACE. i C
The language spoken by the various tribes which inhabit
Madagascar was essentially a spoken language, no symbols
or pictures of tlie nature of writing having been found,
until the early part of the present century; since which
time the English Missionaries, by degrees, reduced it to its
present alphabetic form. The characters chosen for it were
those of our own English alphabet, with the exception of
the five letters c, q, u, iv, x, which have no corresponding
sounds in Malagasy : but some, or all, of these {especially w)
seem likely to be incorporated into the Malagasy language
along with foreign words which require their use.
With regard to the place which Malagasy occupies among
languages, there can be no doubt at all that it belongs to
the Malayo-Polynesian group, or that it seems to have the
closest affinity to the Malay proper and the Eastern Poly-
nesian; although it is still a puzzle why the Malagasy
people, who are chiefly of African origin (with the exception
of the Hova tribe), should use a Malay language.
The use of infixes is a feature which the Malagasy
language possesses in common with other languages of
the Malayo-Polynesian group ; and on this subject
Mr. Keane has kindly given the following valuable
information: — "The infix syllable om {urn, con, om) is a
feature which Malagasy has in common with Khmer
283G32
( iv )
(Cambojan), Javanese, Malay, Tagala (Philippine Archi-
pelago), and, no doubt, other members of the Malayo-
P(^lynesian family.
Ex. Khmer: slap, dead; samlap, to kill.
Javanese : huruh, flame ; hiomurub, to inflame.
Malay : pillh, to choose; ijamilihan, choice.
Tag-ala : hasa, to read ; humasa, to make use of reading-.
Originally a prefix, as it still is in Samoan (ex. moto,
unripe; momoto, to die young), this particle seems to have
worked its way into the body of the word by a process of
metathesis analogous to the transposition common to most
languages (compare Anglo-Saxon thridda with third)."
Briefly stated, the influence of foreigners upon the
Malagasy language is as follows : —
(1) The influence of the Arabs is seen in the names of
the days of the week, the Hova names for the months,
and in many terms connected with dress, bed, money,
musical instruments, &c.
(2) The influence of the English and of the French is
seen in many abstract scientific, theological, and archi-
tectural terms, and in the names of modern weapons.
Above all, the Malagasy people have gained much by the
reduction of their language to the condition of a written
tongue, and by the translation of the Bible into Malagasy —
for whicii benefits they are more especially indebted to the
labours of the English Missionaries.
G. W. PARKER.
MALAGASY GEAMMAE.
Letters. — The Malag-asy Alphabet contains the same
ktters as the English Alphabet^ with the exception of
Cy c[, u, w, and x.
Vowels and Diphthongs. — These are pronounced as
foliows : —
«. as a in psalm ; example^ tana, (a) chamaBleon.
e ... a ... date; ... hiy, yes.
i ... ee ... weep; ... lildij, (a) lock.
o ... 00 ... too; ... bny, (a) river.
These are the usual sounds of the four vowels.
at, ay ) ,.,,..
\ pronounced like i in mio-ht.
ei, ey } ^
ao ... ... ow ... now.
These two sounds are the only true diphthongs.
2^ represents the same sound as i, but is used at the ends
of words, has a lighter sound, and becomes mute in certain
eases ; whilcj in the translation of the New Testament, _y is
used in the body of words taken from the Greek to repre-
sent the letter icpsiloti : thus, sijnagogy, synagogue.
0, when used as the sign of a vocative case, or in names
introduced from another language (as Bajoiia, John), has
the sound of o in ' wo.'
6 A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.
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 : —
dlona, a person, manana, to possess. manenina, to regret.
olana, twisting. ^ manina, to long after, manenona, to weave.
An elision occurs in speaking usually when a final cf, not
accented, precedes a word beginning with any other vowel ;
also when final o precedes a word beginning with o.
Eujohonic Letters. — These are h and i. Euphonic h is
generally inserted (both in speaking and writing) in a
derivative, when two vowels would otherwise come together,
of which one would be the first letter of the root, and the
other the last letter of the prefix ; thus, \hav\any (instead of
lamany), from root avi/. Euphonic i is pronounced (but
neither written nor printed) when iox y precedes g, h, k, ng,
or nh ; thus, mihasa, ' to intend,^ is pronoimced viilciasa.
Ajyparent Dij^htJiongs. — The double vowels eo, io, found
often, are not true diphthongs, because the sound of each
vowel can be distinguished, unless they are pronounced
too quickly : moreover, in forming passive verbs, the
accent passes on to the second vowel. Thus, llo makes
passive imperative alebvy ; dio makes passive imperative
diovy.
Sometimes, too, the diphthongs ai and ao are resolved into
their component vowel-sounds; thus, aidina, ' poured out ;'
THE ALPHABET. 7
abrina, ' built/ In these cases the a is a prefix, the rest
of the word being a root.
The following" combinations of vowels are less often
found : ia, oa, oi (or oy), oe, aoe, and oai.
Final a is changed into y when a word ending in -na,
-ha, or -tra, is followed either by the article ny- or by
eei'tain proper nouns which do not admit of the article :
this change softens and shortens the sound of the final
syllable, and also serves to mark the genitive and ablative
cases.
Ex. ]Sy satrohy ny lehiUihy, the hat of the man. -^
Andriamanltry Jakoha, \hQ Qodiol 3 iidoh. j
Fantatry ny olona, known by the people. — Verb.
The third example shows that verbs in -na, -lea, or -tra,
also follow this rule.
Final a is left unchanged, in order that the sense may
not be doubtful, when a word ending in -na, -ha, or -tra,
is not followed by another word in the genitive or in the
ablative case.
Ex. Fantatra ny olona, known (are) the people, i.e. the people are known.
Consonants. — The consonants are pronounced as in
English, with the following exceptions : —
g is always hard, as in ' gold.'
j as dz, in ' adze.''
s before e and i is pronounced as a soft sh (ex. misy
pronounced m\sh) ; otherwise it is always pro-
nounced as s in 'sun' (ex. Isa, one).
z as z, in ' zone.'
8
A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.
The s and the z are never confounded in Malagasy as
m the English word surprise.
Double Consonants. — The following are commonly used : —
dr, dz (or j), tr, and ^6'. These have the force of single
letters, and may begin a syllable or a word.
ng, mb, vnp, also used often to begin words, seem to
have arisen out of the fuller forms ang, amb, and
amp, which still survive among other dialects
than that of the Hovas : ex. Sihanaka, ambainy =
Hova, mbamy ('together with, including').
n and ni are often used to close syllables : —
n is so used before d, t, dr, dz {px j), tr, ts, g, and k.
m b or p.
Hence the rule : when ii or m in the body of a word
{not a compound) is followed by another consonant, the 9t
or Jii 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 ov p, the only combinations of consonants allowable
in the Malagasy language are the following : —
dr, dz (orj).
tr, ts.
mb, mp.
nd, ndr, ndz (or nj) ng, nk, nt, ntr, nts.
Hence the following euphonic changes among consonants
become necessary :
/ is replaced by p.
h .. .. k or g.
I .. .. d.
V .. .. b.
r is strengthened by d, becoming dr.
s . . . . t, ., ts.
z .. .. d, .. dz
EUPHONIC CHANGES. 9
These euphonic changes among" consonants are re-
quired : —
(1) In forming derivatives that take a pretax ending
in 71 or m.
(2) When n or m is inserted between two words as
the sign of an indefinite possessive or ablative
case.
(3) In contracting words ending in -na by throwing
away the final a, so shortening the word by one
syllable.
But no euphonic change is needed (1) when the w/wle
syllable -na is rejected before a word beginning with m or
n ; thus, manam'pina-mctso becomes inanampi-maso : or
(2) when the n of possession (short for -ny) is similarly
rejected before a noun beginning with m or n; thus, rano-
maso, "eye-water'^ {i.e. tears).
The final syllables -na, -ha, and -tra are contracted
sometimes by rejection of the final syllable. When one of
the changeable consonants follows a word so contracted, it is
changed according to rule [see p. 8), as if the letter to or n
closed the preceding syllable. These final syllables (if not
contracted) are always sounded lightly, although they
become almost mute when the accent falls on the antepenult.
When followed by a consonant, the sound of final a is
always kept.
When a word ending in -na, -ha, or -tra, is joined
with another word beginning with a vowel, the final a is
replaced by an apostrophe ; thus, satrok' olona, ' some-one's
hat.'
From the fondness of the Malagasy for contractions, the
10 A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.
relationship of the second of two contracted words to the
preceding- word may be any one of these ten things : —
(1) It may be a jyossessive case; as, akanim-bbrona
{akany, vbrona), 'a bird's nest/
(2) the agent of a passive or relative verb;
as, tiam-hady [tlana, Xttidy), ' loved by
one^s wife/
(3) the oljeet of a verb ; as, mandso-ddJco (ma-
nosofra, loJco) , ' to smear with paint/
(4) a limUing accusative; as, tsara-fanahy
{tsara, fanahy), * good as regards
disposition/
(5) a noun in apposition; as, andrlan-drdy
dman-drent/ (andriana, ray, amana,
reny), 'the nobles (who are as) father
and mother/
(6) a subject; as,Uatarani-jJoza,(tatatra,fdza),
' crabs are the things for which people
cut channels/
(7) a predicate; as, iiy fonosin-db {fonbsina,
lb), 'the thing that is wrapped up is
putrid/
(8) an adjective; as, zdva-tsba {zavatra, sba),
' good things/
(9) a verb in the infinitive mood; as, nasdi-
nanab {nasalna, nanab), ' bidden
to do/
(10) an adverb ; as, m/petra-pbana (inipetrakaj
fbana), ' to sit about idly/
( 11 )
ROOTS.
In any language the study of the 7-00^5 of the words is
important, but this is more especially the case with the
Malagasy language, because the derivatives, though regular,
are very varied. These roots are chiefly verbs (active and
passive), nouns, and adjectives; but some of the pronouns,
adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections may
also be considered as roots, as they have not yet been
traced to simpler forms.
The two classes of Malagasy roots are as follows : —
Primarij roots ; consisting of one, two, or three syllables ;
with the accent on the first syllable. The few apparent
exceptions to this rule about accentuation (as lalana, from
the French la hi; mizana, from the Ai-abic mizan, &c.)
are explainable by a foreign derivation, or by assuming
that the syllable preceding that which is accented was
originally a monosyllabic primary root: ex. lalao (i.e. lao
reduplicated, 'play, playthings^).
Secondary roots j formed from primary roots by the
addition of a class of special monosyllabic prefixes, which
differ from all the prefixes and aflixes used in the formation
of other words. These secondary roots are treated exactly
like the primary roots in making verbs, &c. from them ;
and their accent is always on the second syllable.
Of these prefixes, kan-, san-, and tan- are treated like
the active prefix ma7i-; q.v. Besides these, we find an
infixed syllable om inserted into a root of either kind
immediately after the first consonant, apparently only the
transposed form of a prefix mo (=?7ia) ; thus, tdny, tomdny.
12
A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAU.
Table op the chiei-' varieties of these Prefixes.
PREFIX.
PRIMARY ROOT.
SECONDARY ROOT.
A. An
zara
anjara.
B. Bo
sesika
bosesika.
D. Da
boboka . .
daboboka.
Do
neudrina . .
donendrina.
F. Fa
ritsoka . •
faritsoka.
Fo
rebitra
forebitra.
G. Go
robaka . .
gorobaka.
K. Kc
razana
karazana.
Kan
tovo
kantovo.
Ki
fafa
kifafa.
Ko
feby
kofeby.
L. Lah
. ; asa
labasa.
M. Mo
koko
mokoko.
N. Ngo
rodana . .
ngorodana.
P. Po
rotsaka . .
porotsaka.
R. Re
betra
rebetra (?).
Ro
abana
roabana.
S. Sa
fidy
safidy.
San
, . lava
sandava (-ny)
T. Ta
fotsy
tafotsi (-ny).
Tan
lapa
tandapa.
Ton
bilana
tongilana.
Tsi
lainga
tsilainga.
Tain
gala
tsingala.
V. Ya
biby
vablby.
Z. Za
tovo
zat5vo.
Reduplication of a root, whether primary or secondar}',
expresses the repetition, or the diminution, or the increased
force, of the idea which the root in its single form expresses :
hence, many roots may appear in a fourfold form. It is
only the primary root which is thus doubled, for the pre-
fixes and aflixes remain unaltered.
Some roots occur only in the reduplicate form ; as, laolao
EOOTS. 13
(ov lalao), 'play;' salasala, 'doubtful/ With regard to
roots which end in S3'llables other than -Txa, -na, -tra, no
contraction occurs, but the root is simpl}'- reduplicated, with
sometimes an n inserted, especially when the root begins
with a vowel.
Ex. J''ijtsi/, white ; foUyfotsy, ■whitish.
Tbro, crushed ; tdrotoro, crushed into pieces.
Ampy, sufBcient ; manainpindmpy, to keep on adding.
Manda, to deny ; mandanda, to deny repeatedly.
Zdky, elder ; zoJchijoky, still older.
Dissyllaljic roots ending in -ka, -na, or -tra, may be
either simply repeated or contracted ; thus, in mitmuitana,
'to be open' (as the mouth), the root is repeated, while
in miiantana, ' to hold/ the root is contracted.
Trisyllabic roots ending in -ka, -na, or -tra, accented on
the antepenult, are contracted according to the rules for
forming euphonic changes.
N.B. — As trisyllabic roots seem all to end in -ka, -na, or
-tra, it is probable that these terminations are only affixes
to primary roots of one or two syllables, as the followino-
facts seem to show : —
(1) They are sometimes disused, especially in dialects
other than the Hova; as, ir ay and iralka, and ha and
uaka, for 'one.'
(2) They are interchangeable in certain words ; as, jpdtsika
and potsitra.
(3) Dissyllabic roots, used in a sense allied to that of the
longer forms, are not rare. Thus, dissyllabic root rla ;
trisyllabic words, viarXa, riaka, rlana; tetrasyllabic words,
tsorlaka, korlana.
14 A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.
Rule. — In reduplicating* a word, remember (1) that the
prefix is never altered ; {H) that the primary root alone is
reduplicated ; and (2) that when the accent advances one
syllable, owing to the addition of an affix, the first part of
the word (I.e. prefix and primary root) is never altered, all
changes occurring" in the last part of the word. Thus : —
Primary root dlo, fbtofra.
Ditto, with prefix . . . mad]o, afototra.
Do,, with prefix reduplicated, madiodXo, afotopbtofra.
Do., with prefix reduplicated,
with accent shifted . . madiodiovy, afbtopotbrana.
Contracted adjectives and some verbs with active prefixes
keep the m or n of the present or past tenses, when redu-
plicated, either instead of, or in addition to, the first letter
of the root. Thus : —
Marina, adj. root arina, becomes marimarina,
Manao, verb ... tao, ... manaonao.
Or an n is inserted, especially when the root to be redu-
plicated begins with a vowel.
Thus : — Maneso, root eso, becomes manesoneso.
Derivatives in Malagasy, which are very numerous, are
formed regularly from any kind of root (single, redupli-
cated, primary, or secondary) by appending to the root (1) a
prefix, or (2) an affix, or (3) both prefix and affix. Thus : —
root zara.
root with prefix . mizara.
root with affix . . zaraina.
root with both . . tzarana.
E00T3. 15
Sometimes it is difficult to find out the root, owing-
(1), to the loss of its tirst consonant; or (2), to a change
in its vowel j or (3), to a change in the consonant of its
final syllable.
Brief Rules for Accentuation.
I. Boots, both primary and secondary, seem always to
have the accent on the first syllable of the primary root,
whether the root be two-syllabic or three-syllabic.
N.B. — A secondary root may be regarded as a primary
root plus a monosyllabic prefix, which does 7ioi alter the
place of the accent.
Reduplicated roots. — As only the primary root (and not
a prefix) is reduplicated, the above rule still holds good
in these cases, whether there be, or be not, any contraction
of the reduplicated word.
N.B.- — Only tri-syllabic roots ending in -l-a, -na, or -tra^
are contracted when reduplicated, although they may some-
times be reduplicated without contraction. No change of let-
ters in the reduplicated word alters the place of the accent.
II. Derivatives. — No prefix alters the place of an accent ;
but affixes always cause the accent to advance one syllable
nearer to the end of the word (g-enerally bringing the
accent on to the antepenult).
N.B. — A few roots (chiefly monosyllabic) do not allow the
accent to shift at all ; and in a iew cases the accent
(apparently contrary to the above rule) goes off the root
on to the first syllable of the affix (as in the word mika-
toavina, from root to).
But even in these cases the accent still rests on the
16 A CONCISE MALAGASY GEAM3IAR.
antepenult, in accordance with the apparently invariable
EULE for all pure Malagasy words, that the accent must
never he further from the end of a word than the ante-
penult.
VERBS.
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.
Of these two moods, the indicative serves for every mood,
except these three, viz. the imperative, the subjunctive, and
the optative, for which three the imperative itself serves.
Active Voice.
Table of Active Verbs.
NAME. EXAMPLES. MEANING.
(1) Root, primary . . . liumana to eat.
secondary . . bomehy (liehy) ... to laugh.
(2) .. withtafa-.
.. primary. . . tafalatsaka (/a;s(//>;a) . . fallen down.
secondary . . tafat3imbadika(i-dd(A;a) overturned.
(3) . . with simple ac-
tive prefix.
Mi, with primary root, milatsaka {latsaha). . ■)
Mi, with secondary root, mianjera {zira) . . . _) ^° ^'"^^^ down.
Miha mihatsara [tscira) . . to become better.
Man maneso (eso) .... to tamit.
Maha mahar o (dro). . . . to be able to protect.
(4) Causative of (3 ) . . mampilatsaka (Mteni-at) to cause to fall down,
(o) Reciprocal of (3) . . mifaneso (e«o) . . . to taunt one another.
(6) Reciprocal causative
of (3) . . . . mampifaneso (eso) . . to ask permission of
(7) Causative reciprocal one another.
of (3) . . . . mifampifira (era) . . to cause (people) to
taunt one another.
VERBS.
17
Table of the cJnef Active Prefixes.
For the signs of causality and reciprocity look up and
donui the Table : for the simple forms, look across it.
SIMPLE.
CAUSATIVE.
KECIPKOCAL.
CAUSATIVE
EECIPEOCAL.
BECIPROCAL
CAUSATIVE.
Mi-
m-amp-i-
m-ifamp-i-.
Miha- {progres-
sive verbs.)
m-amp-iha-
m-ifamp-iha-.
Maha- (potential
verbs.)
m-amp-aha-
m-ifamp-aha-.
Ma-
m-amp-a-
m-if-a
m-ifamp-a-.
Man-
m-amp-an-
m-if-an
m-ampif-an-
m-ifamp-an-.
-Mana-
m-amp-ana-
m- if- ana
m-ampif-ana-
m-ifamp-ana-.
Manka
m-amp-anka-
m-if-anka-
m-ampif-anka-
m-ifamp-anka-.
Notice (1) that amp is the sign of causality, and if
of reciprocity ; and (2) that the causative- reciprocal sign
ampif, and the reciprocal-causative sign ifamp, are only
combinations of these two.
Tafa-, prefixed to a root, gives the idea of completeness,
but differs slightly from our perfect tense, in that it may
be used of something altogether past ; in this respect it
resembles rather the •pluperfect of some languages. Pere
Webber says, (1) that tafa gives the right answer to an
intransitive imperative (as, Mlpetriilta liianab, sit down;
tafapetraka alio, I am seated) ; and (2) that while the prefix
vba implies the operation of an external agent, ttfa usually
implies internal agency. Sometimes, however, these two
prefixes seem interchangeable.
B
18 A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAi:.
Mi; Man-, and Malm-, are the three most common
active prefixes.
3Ii- (contracted into M- before i) forms chiefly intransi-
tive verbs, but forms also a few transitive verbs when
prefixed to a primary root.
Man- forms verbs of either kind, but chiefly transitive
verbs. Man- and Mana- (a long-er form) both seem con-
tracted forms of the verb manab, ' to do, or make/ used as
a prefix.
Media- (contracted into Mali- before a vowel) is a con-
tracted form of the verb Mahay, ' to be able,' This is the
most widely used prefix in the Malagasy language, as it
may be added to almost any word or phrase.
Malta- is used to express (1) power to perform an action,
(2) that which makes a thing what it is.
N.B. — Mana- and Maha- are often confounded ; but
their difierence is well shown by the following example, where
the same root {tsdra, ' good ') produces a verb with each of
the prefixes : —
Manatsara, to do some action for the improvement of a
thing ; to render good ; to make good.
Jlahatsara, possessing the power to make a thing good ;
possessing some quality showing or proving its intrinsic
goodness.
Rules for the formation of the Verbs with the prefix 'man-.'
a. If the root begins with a vowel or with the
consonants d, g, j ; simj)ly apply the prefix, and make
no chang-e.
VERBS. 19
b. If the root beg-ins with any consonant except one of
these three : —
The first consonant of the root is rejected :~k, s, t, tr, ts,
and sometimes h, are rejected.
or, The first consonant of the root is changed : — h some-
times becomes g ; Z becomes d ; r becomes dr ; z be-
comes y (dz),
or, The first consonant of the root is rejected and ihe pre-
fix changed {from man- to mam-) before h, v, f, or p.
But sometimes v is changed into h, or o itself is kept.
Before m or n, the prefix is contracted into ma-.
Ma- (or M-f before vowels) is a shorter form of Man-,
which forms a few transitive verbs, but a large number of
adjectives usable as verbs.
Rules for the formation of the Imperative Mood of
Active Verbs.
(1) Affix -a, unless the word already ends in a.
(2) Shift the accent one syllable forward, unless the root
is a monosyllabic diphthong ; or, unless the root
is two-syllabic, but with the accent on the last
syllable ; or, unless the root is two-syllabic, but
ending in -ha-na, or tra-.
(3) Sometimes also one or other of the following changes
are necessary : —
Change of a consonant preceding the final a : this
occurs only in roots ending in -ka, -na, or -tra, where k
becomes h or f, tr becomes t, r, or/, and n becomes m.
20 A CONCISE MALAGASY GKAM3IAR.
Insertion of a consonant {s, v, or z) before the final a :
there are a few exceptions to this.
Vowel-changes, usualh' taking- place among- the vowels
of the accented syllable, viz. i (or y) into a or e.
Vowel-changes, usually taking place among the vowels
of the accented syllable, viz. ai into e.
The government of cases by Malagasy verbs is often
puzzling, because, while many verbs govern direct accusa-
tives, others require the preposition cimy to be inserted
between them and the cases they govern ; while others,
again, have both constructions. Thus, miteuy aviiiiy,
' to speak to him ; ' miteny azy, ' to reprove him ' [i-e. to
speak at him).
Again, many Malagasy verbs take two accusatives,
which may refer to person and thing, instrument and
object, or limiting accusative and object.
Passive Voice.
Table of the various forms of the Passive Voice.
NAME. EXAMPLE. MEANING.
1 Roct passive tapaka cut off.
2. Passive in voa- voasasa (sasa) .... ^vashed.
3. . . * . . -ina.
from primary root . . zaralna (zara) .... divided.
,. secondary root, tsinjaraina (zara) divided into lots.
. , abstract noim . . hatsaralna (tsara) made good.
. . compound pro-
position ampoizina (fo) .... expected.
antsakaina (tsaka) fetched (of water from
retaining an- of verb r , -i.- / > n\
f y anavaratma (ava- a -well).
in man- . . I ^.^j.^.^^^ ^ ^ _ ^ moved northwards.
. . a7ika- of verb
in manka- . . ankahalaina (hala) hated.
VERBS.
2i
NAME. EXAMPLE. MEANING.
Passive retaining amp- of causa-
tive verb in
mamp- ampilazama (laza) ... caused to tell or to
. . . . ampif- of cau- be told,
sative-recipro-
eal verb in
mamp'if . . .. ampif andabarina.. caused to plead against
4. Passive in -ana (y/-o?« roo^s (lahatra) one anotber.
only) - fotsiana (fotsy) . . 'wbitened.
5. .. .. -ena vonjena (v5njy) .. saved, belped.
6. .. ..a- asebo (sebo) .... sbown.
7. Transposed passive tinapaka (tapaka) . cut off.
Root-passive means a root-word containing- a passive idea
and usable as a passive verb.
The difference (usually existing) between a root-passive
and a passive in a-, -ana, or -i/ia is that the former usually
calls attention to the idea contained, leaving the agent
almost out of consideration, while the latter calls attention
to the agent as well as to the act.
The imperative mood of a root-passive (like the im-
perative mood of an adjective) has usually an optative
meaning : as sitrana, ' may (lie) be healed.' But sitrano,
the imperative passive of the verb mana.sitrana (from si-
trana) has an imperative, not an optative, meaning.
Voa (literally struck) is a root-passive used as a prefix.
Often voa- and tafa- are equally suitable as prefixes, but
generally tafa- implies self-agency, voa- the agency of
another ; but both give almost a "pluperfect " idea.
-ina is the usual ending of most passive verbs. Of these
varieties of passives the only kind at all troublesome to
distinguish is the passive in -ina formed from an abstract
-~ A CONCISE MALAGASY GEAlDJAR.
noon ; with regard to this, remember that the ahstrad noun
ends in ana, while the passive verb ends in ina. Example : —
Jiatsarana (abstract noun), goodness; haisaraina {passive
verb), made to possess goodness, made good.
As regards causative verbs, the i of the affile is the only
visible distinction between their passive and their relative
voices. Example: — passive, a ?>«/>aiioZt'i«ti; relative, a 7?aja-
iwloana, root solo.
The passive in a- (which is very common) calls attention
priucij.»ally to the position or state of the object,
Eide for distinguishing the use of the passive in a, from
the use of the passive in -ana : — ^Vhen a verb governs two
accusatives, the one of the object acted on, the other of
the instrument or means with which the action is effected,
the Jrrff : " i? made the nominative of a passive in a-, the
fi — ive in -ana.
Example : — - : . * to anoint it with oil ; *
-^:" - -: - Uii is here the nominative of
/. . V so^ZiA-a i2y (the thing anointed
is here the nominative of the verb hosorana,)
X.B. — " The non-observance of this rule may lead the
foreigner into gross absurdities/' says the Rev, W.
E. Cousins.
Passives in a-change their accent only in their im-
perative mood; thus, root haro, aharo (indicative}, aharoy
(imperative). Transposed passives are formed by prefixing
ni- or tio- to a root, and then transposing the n and the
first letter of the root ; as, fapaJia, nitapaka, tinapalia,
Eule, — iu forming the passives in a-, -ana, and -t'jia,
the relatives, and the imperative m-xni in verbs of all
VERBS. 23
voices aud classes, one or all of the following five changes
are necessary : —
1. Append the characteristic termination —
-iua, -ana, or -ena, for the indicative mood passive
voice; -ana, and -ena, for the indicative mood
relative voice.
-o (or -y, if o is already contained in the root ) for
the imperative mood of all relative verbs and
of passives in a-, -ina, and -ana.
-a (in a few cases -e) for the imperative of a root,
and for all active imperatives.
~. ^fove the accent one syllable forward. Exceptions : —
when the root has one syllable only ; when the root has two
syllables, the second being accented ; when the root has two
syllables, the second ending in -7ia, -ka, or -tra.
3. For roots in -na, -Jia, and -tra, a change occurs in
the consonant preceding the characteristic termination :
k becomes h or /; tr becomes r, t, or /; n (often)
becomes m.
4. Insert s, v, orz, before the characteristic termination.
0. Alter a vowel, usually of the accented syllable; as, i
(or y) into a or e, and ai into e.
ia (that is, / of the root and a of the affix) are sometimes
contracted into e ; as, root vonjy, passive vonjiana contracted
into vonjetia.
Rule for choosing ichich voice (active or passive) is to
be used : — When " the agent and his act " are most in your
thoughts, choose the active voice ; when " the result oj the'
24 A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.
act" is most in your thoug-lits, choose the passive voice.
The Malagasy usually prefer the passive voice.
Rule for the use of tJie passive voice of verbs ivJiich govern
two accusatives: — Either accusative may be made the
nominative of a passive verb.
N.B. — When two passives exist from the same root
(viz. in a- and -ina) take care to choose the right one.
Relative Voice.
The relative voice is one which is peculiar to the Malagasy
language; and, although somewhat puzzling at first, its
use is very convenient. It is a blending of the two other
voices, both in form and in construction ; and expresses
some relationship between the agent of a verb and the
object.
Mule for forming the relative voice (from the active
voice) : — 1 . Omit the m of the active prefix. 2. Affix -ana,
or -ena, for the indicative mood; and -o, or -y, for the
imperative mood; then treat the word (as regards changes)
as if it were a passive in -ana. The government still
remains thitt of the active verb, but the agent is ex-
pressed by the sufl[ix pronoun, as if the verb were really
passive.
Some relative verbs are also used for the passive voice,
and their meaning must be found from the context. Also,
what has been said of the twofold meaning of active verbs
in maha- is equally true of relative verbs formed from
them.
VERBS. 25
Table of the chief characters of the subject of a
Relative Verb.
1. (As in English) the nominative case of an active
verb is its agent, and that of a passive verb its direct
object.
2. The Nominative may have any of the following degrees
of relation : —
(a) Direct object considered partitively.
(b) Indirect object {i.e. one which would be preceded
by the preposition amy if it followed a verb,
whether active or passive).
(c) An adjunct of time (point, duration, or repetition).
place (in, towards, or from).
mode (manner, or measure).
cause (cause, or occasion; reason;
means, or instrument; price).
Tenses of Verbs.
The indicative mood alone has any tenses ; these tenses
are the three simple tenses — present, past, and future. As
with Malagasy adjectives, so with the tenses of Malagasy
verbs, n is the sign of the past, and h of the future.
>
y^
1
'""'
f>
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>
o
^
^i
2
'fl
h-^
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1— 1
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1-^
3
<
CO
X
C-N
o
M
2
<
t-^
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.1
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<1
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c
o
^ *
^
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— •
S
?^
^
Cf?
s
*-'
-3
ac3
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o
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^
a
i^^
Cf3
=:5
•
j^
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s
a
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— '
<.
'
•
p
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~
rt-
•
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J^i
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1<J —
<rt- — ' ^.
-<
-^^
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c-t-
5J
<5
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g 3
S I— °
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2 05
? 3-
CD
)^ 2
a
r"
O
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a
o
o
o
O
CO
VERBS. 27
Use and force of efa. — As the Malagasy language has
no exact equivalents for the perfect, pluperfect, and future
perfect tenses, the nearest equivalents are got by using the
auxiliary verb efa (literally, done). It may be used before
any tense of any voice, and conveys the idea of more or
less 'completeness.'
Examples : — Efa manao, is doing, has begun to do and
is siiW doing (incomplete present) . Efananao, was in the
act of doing {incomplete i^erfect) ; or, had done {completed
perfect, pluperfect). Efa hanab, is just about to do, is
on the point of doing [incomplete future) .
Compound Future Tense. — This is formed by putting ho
before a past tense ; as, nanao ho nankati), ' he intended to
come [or to have come) here/
The various uses of the Infinitive Mood.
The indicative mood may be used in any voice or tense ;
(1) as an adjective or as a participle, especially when a
noun is left to be understood ; as, mj manana, ' the (men) ;
possessing,' the possessors, i. e. the rich ; ny nafao, ' the
(deed) done;' ny handidlana, the (instrument, &c.) for
cutting. (3) It may be used where in other languages an
infinitive would be required, viz. either as a noun, usually
with the article ; as, ny mangaiatra, ' stealing,' or ' the
thieves.*
(N.B. — In such cases the meaning must be made clear
by the context, or else it remains doubtful) : — or as de-
pendent on another verb; as, asaiJco manao, 'is bidden
by me to do (it).'
28 A COXCISE MALAGASY CrwVMMAR.
The dependent verb, and that on which it depends, are
not necessarily of the same voice or of the same tense;
but, among- the many possible combinations made in this
way, the following two Rules should be remembered :
(1) A past can only be used as dependent on a past.
(2) The future is more often used in this dependent
manner than either the past or the present.
An Imperative can be followed by a present or a future
of any voice.
The Conditional mood is expressed by the indicative mood
preceded by a conditional conjunction {raha, nbny, &c.).
The Hortative mood is expressed either by an impe-
rative passive with the suffix pronoun, as anarontsikaf
Met him be reproved by us' {i.e. let us reprove him); or
by an indicative future preceded by abha or andeha, as
aolca, or andeha, hihira isika, ' let us sing.-* (N.B. — Of these
two, aoka is never followed by any other tense than the
future; andeha, usually by the future, but sometimes by
the present, as in the phrase andeha maka rano, ' go (and)
fetch (some) water/)
A prohibition is expressed, not by the imperative mood,
as in many languages, but by the indicative mood preceded
by aza. In this case the verb (in the indicative) may belong
to any of the three voices. Ex.: aza miteny h]aniio, 'do not
speak. (N.B. — As there is no exact equivalent for the
verb "to be'' in Malagasy, aza may be used prohibi-
tively with adjectives also; thus, aza ^e^ifra 7aa?iao, Mo
not (be) angry.')
VERBS.
29
Defective Auocillarij Verbs.
Of these there are five iu common use, viz.,
EXAMPLES.
MahazOy implying practicability.
Mahay, implying ability or skill.
Meiy, implying consent, willingness,
Till, implying desire, wish.
Mhy, implying existence.
tay malulzo manao, not able to do
(bocanse hindered).
tsy mahay maniio, not able to do
(absence, or deficiency, of skill).
tsy mety mnnao, not willing to do
(absence of consent ).
tsy ta-hando, not desirous to do
(absence of wish).
tsy tiil^y, there is none (non-exist-
ence).
N.B. — Mlsy is the nearest equivalent to our verb " to be."
Ta^le of Defective Auxiliary Verbs.
TENSE.
ACTIVE.
PASSIVE. EELATIVE
Indicative . .
mahazo . .
azo . ,
ahazjana.
Imperative .
maliazda .
. . .
dhazoy.
Indicative . .
nialidy . . .
hay
. . ahdizana.
Imperative.
mahalza . .
. .
. . ahalzo.
Indicative . .
mety . , <
. .
. . etezana.
Imperative.
meteza . .
. .
. . etezo.
Indicative . .
tia (ta-, te-) .
tiana
. . itidvana.
Imperative.
tidva . . .
tidvo
. . itidvo.
Indicative . .
mify (pronounced midi)
. . isiana.
Imperative .
misia . . .
. .
. . isio.
(The Imperative Relative of these is seldom used.)
Rule for the_ contraction of tia (into te- or to,-) : — Tia is
not contracted when a suffix pronoun will be affixed, even
when a future tense will follow ; as, tlako hatao izany,
30 A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.
' I wish that to he done/ Otherwise tia is contracted into
ta- before a future beg-inning- with ha- (hamj)-, han-, &c.) ;
as, ta-hanao izdny aho, 'I wish to do that:' or into th-
before a future beg-inning with hi- or ho; as, te-hilaza,
* wish to tell ;' te-hofati/, ' wish to be a dead body' (i.e. wish
to die).
The active and relative forms of mahazo, manao, and
mctj/, must be followed by an active voice ; but the passive
forms azo and hay, take either a passive or a relative after
them, iiot an active. The pronoun is generally affixed to the
auxiliary verb ; as, azoko soratana, ' able by me to be
written' (for nothing- hinders).
Partitive force o/misy. — Mlsy oiten serves to show that
the verb which it precedes applies only to some of the
persons or things indicated by the subject. Ex. : mandahnga
ny ohma, 'the people tell lies' (all, or some?); mlsy man-
dainga ny olona, ' some of the people tell lies.'
1
( 31 )
NOUNS.
TABLE OF NOUN-rOEMS.
EXAMPLE.
MEANING.
tndso
(an) eye.
W^h (Ph)
cord.
rcharcha .
overbearing conduct
kirazimzy .
(a) joke.
vonbana (vbno).
murder.
mpamono (vbno)
one who often kills.
fambno (vbno) .
usual way of killing.
fdmonbana
usual place of killin
halalina "\
halaVinana f
.. ... > (Z«/i«a), depth.
fdhalallnana J
tsl-Jinbana (Ino) .
unbelief.
fbto-kedtra {fbtolra
principle.
hevltra).
_,. , f primary
Smglo root J
( secondary .
T. 1 , ( primary
Redup. root \^ /
( secondary .
Verbal noun in -ana
Habitual noun of agent
,, noun of manner .
„ relational noun .
Abstract noun in }ia-
„ „ in ha-ana .
„ „ in fdha- .
„ „ in faha-ana
Negative noim .
Compound noun . .
The verbal uoun in -ana follows the same rules as the
passive verbs in -ana.
The habitual nouns (/ and p convey the idea of habi-
tuality) are verbal in form, meaning, and government. The
habitual nouns of manner, or ' modal nouns,' are so-called
because they tnay be used to express the mode of the action
indicated by the verbs from which they are derived. They
are usually preceded by a qualifying adjective (as, tsara-
jilaza, ' good as to the way of speaking,' having a good
delivery) ; and also may denote the customary instrument,
agent, or object.
Relative Noun. — ■/ prefixed to a relative verb changes
it into a relative noiin ; and as the meaning is still as wide
32 A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR,.
as before (/ only adding" the idea of habit) another noun
is often put before it^ to limit its meaning; as, trano-fivava-
hana, ' a house for prayer.'
N.B. — Do not use the habitual noun of the agent (which
always begins with m-p-) for an agent not necessarily
habitual. Ex.: mpambno, ' a man who often and habitually
murders/ a regular assassin ; mamono, ' a man who perhaps
only once murders.^
The abstract nouns in ha~ and faha- are really habitual
modal nouns derived from verbs in maha- ; they are similar
in meaning, and are seldom used without the suffix pro-
noun -ny.
The difference in meaning between these abstract nouns,
aceording to Pere Webber, is as follows : —
hatsara shows intrinsic goodness, worth.
hatsarana shows extrinsic goodness, or goodness em-
bodied in deeds, good conduct.
fahatsarana shows goodness as the source or principle
of good deeds.
Cases of Kouns.
There are no declensions in the Malagasy language, so
that where the case of a noun is not left to be found out
from the context, one or other of the following case-
indications are necessary : —
For an accusative case, its position immediately after or
close to its verb.
For an accusative case, the particle any (which precedes
all proper names and some pronouns).
NOUNS. 33
For a possessive or an ablative case : —
{a) When the noun is made definite by the article ny,
the governing word (whether noun or verb) takes the suffixed
pronoun -w?/ (or n'); as, tranon' ny salmiza, 'house of the
friend '. Or, if the governing word end in -na, -ha, or tra,
the final -a is changed into -y ; as, fantatry ny vlona,
'known by the people ^
(h) When the noun is 7iot made definite by the article,
either ')n or n (regardable as contracted forms of the suffix
pronoun -ny) is inserted ; as, halam-h alio aha, ' hated by
(the) people^; or, if the governing word end in -na, -ha,
or -tra, a contraction occurs with some euphonic change
among the consonants. [See Euphonic changes among con-
sonants.^
For a vocative case : — the omission of the article ; as,
Rainay izay any an-danitra, ' Our Father who (art) in
heaven ^; or, the use of ry {ray, or rey) before the vocative
case, or o after it.
Special uses of the Nominative and Accusative Cases.
The nominative is often used absolutely, at the begin-
ning of a sentence, where we might say 'as to' or 'in
reference to'.
The accusative, besides indicating the object, may be
(adverbial) used as an adverb of time or of place ; (instru-
mental) used of an instrument, as namely sahatra anao tzy,
'he struck you (with) a sword '; (limiting) used to limit the
■ meaning of an adjective or a verb (which verb may be in
any of the three voices). This last is a very common use
of the accusative case.
c
34
A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR,
ADJECTIVES.
TABLE OF ADJECTIVE FORMS.
Singla root
NAME.
r primary . .
^ secondary
Reduplicated ( primary. . .
root (. secondary ,
EXAJtPLE. MEANING.
tsara good.
sahirana (hirana) .. perplexed,
tsaratsara tolerably good, goodish.
sahirankirana (hi-
rana) slightly perplexed.
Adjective in wia-jUncontracted, maditra (ditra) . . . obstinate.
Ditto, contracted., maozatra (ozatra). . sinewy, tough,
(a combining with the fol-
lowing or i to form a diph-
thong).
Adjective in ?n-, before a or e marina (arina) level, true.
Ditto, before Aa- or /ie- mafy (hafy) hard.
Reduplicated adjective in ?««-
or in Hi- madiodio (die) rather clean.
Negative adjective tsi-marina (arina)... not level, untrue.
Adjective with limiting ac-
cusative tsara-bika good as regards shape.
Antithetic compound adjec-
tive keli-malaza little (but) famous.
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, vavana (root vava), talkative, literally 'mouthed '.
N.B. — In English we have the very same form,
* moutlied ', ' moxdlxing ', both from ' mouth'.
By the use of nouns for our adjectives of material ; as,
trano hazo, 'a house (of) wood^, i.e. a wooden house.
By the use of the auxiliary verb dzo for our adjectives in
-able and -ible; as, azo hanina, 'able (to be) eaten ^, i.e.
eatable.
VERBS. 35
Comparison of Adjectives.
Reduplication of an adjective nearly always lessens its
meaning' ; as, fotsy, ' white ' ; fotsifbtsy, ' whitish ■'. But
repetition of an adjective, with the insertion of dla in the
interval, always intensifies its meaning- ; as, fotsy diafutsy,
* very white'.
No changes are made in the form of an adjective to
show the deg-rees of comparison. A comparative degree is
known by noho, Jcoa nblio, Icohba noho, or lavitra noJio,
following" the adjective ; a superlative degree, by amy or
indrlnda ami/.
Or, by the omission of nbho or amy, any of these forms
may be used absolutely, the compared ol)jcct being- supplied
mentally ; as, tsaratsara koJioa %o, ' that is better ' (than
some other).
Or the simplest form of the adjective may be used as a
superlative, no (the emphatic and discriminative particle)
being- put after it ; as, iza no tsara ? ' which (is the) good
(one) ? ' i.e. which is the best ?
Another idiom is what the Rev. W. E. Cousins calls
" the conditional superlative ", a term which is best ex-
plained by the following examples : —
(a) From Fable XII.: mafy kba ralia mafij, 'hard, if
(there be anything) hard\ {Adjectiue.)
(h) From Luke xxii. 15 : Naniry koa raha nanlry Alio,
' desired, if I desired '; or, as our Authorized Version says,
With desire have I desired. ( Verb.)
36
A CONCISE MALAGASY GKAMMAR.
Table of Degrees of Comparison rf Adjectives.
DEGREE.
Positive .
tsara
r^ X- f tsara kokoa )
Comparative ^ ^garatsara kokoa )
B.
Saperlative. ,
Comparative,
Superlative.
C tsara indrindra )
^ tsara dia tsara )
. tsara noho
f tsara kokoa nobo
^ tsaratsara koa (or kok6a
tsara lavitra noho
tsara amy ny — rehetra,
tsara indrindra amy ny
noho)
better.
best.
better than.
a little better than.
far better than,
best of all.
very best of all.
Tenses of Adjectives.
The Rule for forming" the tenses of adjectives is as
follows : —
Adjectives in ma- uncontracted, make na- in the past,
and ha- in the future.*
All other adjectives make no change for the past, but
take ho fo)- the future.
Tabular view of the Te7ises of Adjectives.
PKESENT.
PAST.
FUTURE.
Adj.
ill 7na- imcontractod.
maditra (ditra). . . .
nadltra
. . haditra.
Adj.
ill ma- contracted.
r
1 maozatra fozatra). .
I mainty (inty)
maozatra . .
ho maozatra.
3
mauity
„ mainty.
1
(marina (arina)
marina
,, marina.
(.
^ merika (erika)
merika
,, merika.
* jifciJaheh, although an adjective in ma- contracted, is an exception to
this rule, because its past is ndkahelo, and its future liMahelo. Again, in
some parts of Madagascar, contracted adjectives in ma- make their past in
na-, and their futiu'e in ha-.
ADJECTIVES. 37
On looking- at these five adjectives it will be noticed
that the first of them alone has the accent on the second
syllable ; hence we may deduce the following- Rule, to help
us to know the class to which any adjective beg-inning with
m- may belong- : —
If the accent is on the second syllable, it belongs to the
first class, and begins with ma- uncontracted.
If the accent is on the first syllable, ma- either has
its a suppressed (as in marina), or its a forms a diphthong
with the i or of the root-word of the adjective (as in
malnty).
Imperative and Optative Moods of Adjectives.
Any adjective can be made imperative or optative by
following the rules given for active verbs or those for
root-passives ; and either the meaning of the adjective, or
else the context, will determine whether a command or a
wish is intended to be expressed. As, mazoto, ' diligent ' ;
mazotoa, ' be diligent ' : faingana, ' quick ' ; faingcoia,
* be quick/
Construction of Adjectives.
The following adjectives, and some others, have a quasi-
transitive sense, and govern a direct accusative as their
complement ; as, /eno azy ny trcmo, ' the house is full of
them'. In English we require a preposition in such cases,
in Malagasy no preposition.
38
A CONCISE MALAGASY GRA^IMAR.
adala, ' foolish about '.
akciihj, ' near to '.
antonona/^t for'/ suited to'.
ampy, 'enoug-h for'.
hetsal-a, 'having- much oi',
' abounding' in '.
he, ' having many of ',
'abounding in '.
dlhoTia, ') , r ^^ a
> ' ruli 01 .
feno, )
gaga, ' surprised at '.
henilm,-^ ^^^^^^ ^^,
hihoka, I
lubolxa (only another form of
dlholia).
mhnina, ' longing after '.
mctnitra, ' perfumed with '.
malmbo, ' smelling offen-
sively of.
malahl'lo, ' grieved about ' ,
'sorrowing for'.
mamo, 'intoxicated with'.
mendriJca, 'suitable for',
'worthy of.
sahy, 'without fear of.
sasatra, 'tired of.
taliaka, * like ', ' similar
to'.
t'o/n/, ' satisfied with '.
vitsi/, 'having few of.
Adjectives can be followed by passive or relative verbs,
with a gerundial force ; as, scirotra atao, 'difficult to be done'.
PRONOUNS.
The Personal Pronouns.
Of Personal Pronouns there are two forms, separate and
inseparable (or suffixed), as shown in the following table :
Singidar Number.
Separate forms.
Insepaj
able for^ns.
PESSON.
NOM. CASE.
ACC. AND
POSSESS. CASES.
FULL FORM.
COXTE. FOEM.
First . .
J izaho )
• \ alio ]
ally.
-l-o
-0.
Second .
luanho
anao.
-nao
-ao.
Third. .
. \zij
azy.
-ny
-n\ -y.
PEONOUNS. 39
Plural Number.
-7ifs\Ica -tslkc
-nay -ay.
-nareo -areo.
-ny -n', -y.
First, inclus. inha antsika.
,y exclus. izahay anay.
Second . . Jnanareo atiareo.
Third . . Izy azy.
Izaho is more emphatic than aho, and is generally used
when the predicate follows, while aho usually follows its
predicate. There are some exceptions to this rule, especially
the verb hoy {' say, says, said '), which usually takes izaho
' say 1/
Isiha includes both the speaker and the person spoken
to, while Izahay excludes the person addressed ; or, isiJca,
'we/ (and you), izahay, 'we,' (but not you).
The separate forms for the possessive case are used in
two ways : —
(1) as predicates ; as, ahy ny vbla, 'the money is mine'.
(2) for any case, with the article prefixed (the noun
being- understood) ; as, hito ny ando, 'being* thine' (lit. the
of thee) .
The inseparable or suffixed forms may denote —
(1) A possessive case; as, ny vblaho, 'my money'.
(2) An ablative case, showing the agent of a passive or
a relative verb ; as, voasasojko, ' washed by me'. They are
less often used with adjectives in this instrumental sense ;
as, flry ny olona izay efa hendrinao ? ' How many are the
people who have become wise through you ' ?
(3) An indirect objective case, after verbs, adjectives,
prepositions, &c. In these cases the suffixed pronoun is
40 A CONCISE JIALAGASY GRAMMAIl.
attached to the preposition amy ; as, miseho amiho, ' to
appear to me ^.
(4) Rarely a dative ease ; as, maminaij, * sweet to us '.
As there is no reflexive pronoun in Malagasy, tena (body)
is used for self; as, nambno tena izy, ' 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. (3) For words ending in -na, -lea, or -ira;
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 ; as, tratro and tratrako, 'my chest ^; — except
in the case of passive and relative verbs and relative nouns
in -ana, when only the contracted forms of these pro-
nouns may be used ; as, sasana, ' washed ', sasako,
' washed by me '.
Examples of the modes of attacliment of suffixed Pronouns.
1. To words not ending in -?za, -ka, or -tra.
NOUN. VERB. PREPOSITION.
V61a, money. Azo, got. Amy, to, at, &c.
('v61ako, my money. azoko, got by mo. amiko, to mo.
^ J v51anao, thy money. ^zonao, „ „ thoo. aminao, to thee.
Jj3 j volany, his ( or her ) azony, „ „ him, aminy, to him (her, or
(^ money. (her, or it). it).
/'volanay, our money. azonay, „ ,, us. aminay, to us.
fc.- \ vcilantsika, our money. azontslka „ „ us. amintsika, to ns.
p;; J volanareo, your money, azonarco, „ „ you. aminareo, to you.
(volany, their money. azony, „ „ them, aminy, to them.
PRONOUNS.
41
2. To words ending" in -?ia, -Jia,OY-tra. (N.B. — Only-
nouns are here given as examples, but verbs are treated in
exactly the same way.)
Harona, a basket. Satroka, a hat or, hats.
/'haroko, my basket. satroko, my hat.
bb J haronao, thy basket. satrokao, thy hat.
jn I barony, his (or her) satrony, his (or her)
(, basket. hat.
Charonay, our basket. satrokay, our hats.
^ j harontsika, our basket, satrotsika, our hats.
5J ) haronareo, your basket, satrokareo, your hats.
v^harony, their basket. satrony, their hats.
Hevitra, a thought,
hevitro, my thought,
hevitrao, thy thought,
heviny, his (or her)
thought,
hevitray, our thought,
hevitsika, our thought,
he vitrareo,your thought,
heviny, their thought.
Demonstrative Pronouns.
These are very numerous, the choice of one rather than
another being regulated by the distance, real or imaginary,
of the object pointed out. By the insertion of re, they
become plural ; while by inserting za another class of these
pronouns is formed, expressing the unsee7i, remembered,
or conceived, as oj)posed to what is seen and actually
pointed out.
Comparative Table of the chief Demonstrative Fronoims
and analogous Adverbs of Place.
DEMONSTEATIVE PEONOUNS.
(Object seen
.)
Singular.
Plural.
It^, this.
irity,
ltd (obsolete), „
ireto,
lo, that.
ireo,
p-^y,
iretsy,
"ixy, „
ireny,
Iroa, „
ireroa,
Iry, „
irery,
these.
those.
[Object unseen.)
Singular or Plural.
izdly.
izato.
izao.
izatsy.
izany.
izarda.
izary.
42 A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.
ADVERBS OF PLACE.
{Object
seen.)
{Object
unseen.)
Ety,
here.
aty,
here.
Eto,
„
ato,
,,
Eo,
there.
ao.
there.
Etsy,
5>
atfy,
,.
Eny,
)>
anij.
)>
Erda,
J»
arda.
)»
Er^,
)>
cay,
M
All demonstrative pronouns are used both before and
after the word or phrase they qualify ; as, lo hazo lo, ' that
tree '. This use of them is very convenient, especially with
a long phrase, as all the connected words are thereby
bound together.
Interrogative Pronouns.
These, which are few in number, are as follows : —
iza, zovij 'who,' 'which'? hiona, 'what'? an'\za,
an-jbvi/, ' whose ' ? an'lnona (used of places only), ' where ',
* what ' ?
The indefinite interrogatives are made by doubling
these, and inserting na between ; as, 7ia ha na iza, ' who-
soever '.
The Relative Pronoun.
There is only one relative pronoun, izay, which cannot
be declined, and is used for any case of either number.
NUMERALS. 4S
15 =y
o ^ ^ ^
g ^_^;^ -^ . These are made by prefixing fan- to the Multi-
plicatives, and are seldom used in the higher niim-
bers. They are treated as nouns, take the Buffis
pronoun -ny (in which respect they resemble the
^ i 'S o ' c2 iS '^ Fractionals), and may be followed by a possessive
S S S^a case.
S o o sit 'g
^ -^ -5 a, .s .s .H .s .2 .a .§ .3 .£ J .a .a .s .a .a .a .a .a .2.2 .a .5 .s ^
p j^ "^ "3 t> The Fractionals are made from the Cardinals by
^ >^ B.ljf : ^ prefixing ampaha-, and then affixing -ny.
„ ^2; ^ rt ^ n' -S ^^' ^^'O'^ *^^® Ordinals by prefixing aw-, changing
HH °2^ •^J-Sn'a y into /j, and then affixing -ny.
^ o fcc J • '^ '^ "^ ^ They are generally followed by a suffixed pronoun
K'CjS ^^la^ or a possessive case: and the numerator of a frac-
Q '^^T-. :5-^&^*^ tion is expressed, as in English, by a Cardinal ; as,
a ~' -l^l^§,i roa d(y(/)aA'(^e/o«j/, 'two-thirds of it'.
Eq <i-£ "
^ —
^ i^ o .a '3 Voalohany (from loha, 'head ) is the iisual word for
K* g "'^ ^ '^ ' first '. The remainder of the Ordinals are merely the
Eh S ^'^•" cf Cardinals with faha- prefixed to them, as in the case of
"^ o •£ fe 7^ . fahiraika.
<
O
44 A COXCISE MALAGASY GRAMIIAR.
N.B. — The Multiplicatives are made from the Cardinals
by prefixing in-, and maldng euphonic consonantal changes
only in the following few cases : — nf into mjJ {impito, im-
pltojJolo, impolo) ; nv into mb {imhdlo, imbalopolo) ; ns
into nfs {intsivy, intsivifolo) ; nz into nj (injato).
^Isa is used in counting (as isa, roa, &c. — hence the verb
manlsa, ' to count^) ; iray, as a numeral adjective (as, irano
iray, ' one house ' ) ; and iraika, in compound numbers (as
iralkambinifdlo) only in the Hova dialect, but as equivalent
to, and instead of, isa and iray, in several of the other
dialects of Madagascar.
N.B. — In counting in Malagasy the units come first, then
the tens, &c. : roanibinifolo {roa amhy ny fblo), ' twelve '
(literally, two an addition to the ten).
Indrdy alone means again; but when used as meaning
once, the verb mandeha (to go) or the verb maha (to fetch)
must be added; as, tsy azo hanina indray mandiiha (or
indray mlika izy), * it cannot be eaten (at) once', or ' a^
one go \
The Ordinals are often used as Fractionals (iis,fahenim-
hary, the sixth part of the rice-measure called vary iray).
And they are used of measurements ; a.s,fiihaflrymda ny
trdnonao ? — Fahadlmy. " How many (fathoms in length)
is your house ? — Five ".
Distributives are made by doubling the Cardinals and
prefixing tsi- ; as, tsira{n)y, ' one by one '; tsiroaroa, ' two
by two '. Some of the numerals have verbal forms in mi- or
man-, as follows : —
Iliflry, to be divided into how many ? miroa, to be
divided into two ; mitllo, to be divided into three, &c.
THE ARTICLE. 45
Firma? (passive participle o? miflry) — divided into how
many ? telbina, divided into three ; efarina, divided into
four^ &c. They also have imperative moods : — teloy,
divide it into three ; efaro, divide it into four, &c.
lldnindroa {manao indrba), to do (a thing-) twice.
Maninielo, to do (a thing-) thrice.
Indraosina, ' being done twice ' ; intelbina, ' being- done
thrice^. These are sometimes used as the passive parti-
ciples of the corresponding- verbs, 77ianindrba, manintelo, &c.
Number of days is expressed by turning- the cardinals
into abstract nouns in ha — ana ; as^ hafiriana 7 ' how
many days ^ ? indrb-midro, [indrba andro), Hwo days'*;
hatelbana, ' three days ' ; hefcvrana, ' four days ', &c.
N.B. — The only known exception to this rule is in the
use of indrb-cmdro, instead of harbana, for ' two days '.
Another thing- to be remembered is that, while an adjec-
tive g-enerally follows its noun (as, trano tsara, ' a good
house"), the numeral [i.e. the cardinal) is often placed before
a noun ; as, rba lahy, ' two men '.
THE ARTICLE,
The Definite Article. — There is only one definite article,
ny, which is used before common nouns, and has the same
defining power as our English article the. Its special uses
are as follows.
a (when used) : —
1. Like the Greek article, it is much used to turn other
parts of sj^eech into nouns ; as, ny manbratra, ' the art of
writing', or Hhe people who write \
46 A CONCISE ilALAGASY GRAMMAR.
2. It is used generieally, with reference to the whole of
a class; as, ny vbrona, ^ birds ' (or, the birds). This is the
only sense in which ny can be used with proper names ; as,
ny Malagasy, 'Malagasy' [as a nation).
3. It is used in general comparisons after words imply-
ing' likeness (as toy, talialm, c^c.) ; as, toy ny vbrona,
' like birds '.
4. It is used before a noun when made definite by a suf-
fixed pronoun ; as, ny satroko, ' the hat of me ', i.e. my hat.
5. It is used with abstract nouns; as, mj marina,
' truth ^
6. With the words anankiray (certain), sasany (some),
relihtra (all), and maro (many), the Malagasy often use the
article where the English dispense with it ; as,
ny lehilahy anankiray, 'a certain man '.
ny olona sasany, ' some people '.
ny olona rehetra, 'all people' (or, all the people).
ny olona maro, ' many people '.
h (when omitted) : —
1. Before nouns in apposition ; as, Herodra mpanjaka,
' Herod the king ', {or, King Herod).
2. Before nouns in the vocative case ; as, Rainay izay
any an-danitra, ' Our father who (art) in heaven' !
3. Before predicates; as, satroko lo, 'that is my hat'.
4. Before accusatives when they are adverbial, instru-
mental, or limiting.
5. After no in some idiomatic phrases, where no seems
equivalent to wi/ or i:ay; as, hoy no navaliny azy, or hoy ny
navallny azi/.
THE ARTICLE. 47
The Indefinite Ay'ticle. — The Malagasy language has no
indefinite article, but the place of it is supplied in one or
other of these four ways : —
1. By omitting ny ; as, nahlta omhy alio, ' I saw an ox',
[or, oxen) ; (2) Ly the use of ananhiray and sasany in the
half-definite sense of some, certain ; (3) by using the rela-
tive pronoun iziiy, in an indefinite sense, as, Iza no hatbJcy
izay adala? 'who would trust a fool' {or, one who is a fool) ?
(4) by using the verb misy ; as, mlsy blona namangy azy,
* a person [or, some persons) visited him '; misla miinl-aty ny
anTilzi-laliy, ' let a servant {or one, or some, of the servants)
come here'.
There are also in Malagasy the following common per-
sonal prefixes, i, ri, ra, ray. Hay {Hey, ilehy), and andriana.
Of these, i and ra, though generally prefixed to proper
nouns, are sometimes prefixed to common nouns used as
names of persons; SbSjivadinao, 'your wife'; ralehilahy,' the
{or, that) man '.
The Emjohatic or Discriminative Particle ' no.'
' JV^o ' is a particle which is both emphatic and exclu-
sive, and not a substitute or equivalent for the English
copula ' is'. As the Rev. W. E. Cousins says : — " It serves
to make an emphatic assertion, and at the same time implies
the exclusion or discrimination of some object or objects to
which the predicate used in that assertion does not apply ;
this discriminated object often being stated in the follow-
ing clause, as in the proverb, ' Ny Jcitoza no tsar a raha
mihantona; fa ny thiy tsy tsdra mihcintona '. ' It is hitoza
48 A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.
(sun-dried meat) that is g-ood when hung ; but words are
not good (when) hung'; i.e. they are better spoken '^
The reasons for believing that no may have been origi-
nally an article (if not identical with ny) are as follows : —
(1) No is nearly identical in form with vy.
(2) It makes the use of ny unnecessary ; as, iza no tsara
(not, ha no ny tsara) ? ' which is the good one '?
(3) In some idiomatic phrases it seems to have the force
of ny, or of the relative pronoun izay.
Syncpsis of the various uses of ' no/
A. To emphasize or discriminate.
(1) A subject —
in assertive sentences ; as, izy no ha/iiao izany, ' it
is he who shall do that '.
in interrogative sentences ; as, aiza no alchanao,
' where is it that you are going '?
N.B. — When the answer to a question would
))e a subject, no should be used ; as, ha no
izy? ^ Which is it' ? — the answer being, 'This
is it '. But where no is not used, the answer
would be a predicate ; as, iza hy ? or, ha
moa hy ? ' Who is he '? — the answer uoukl
be very different, ' He is my brother', &c.
in imperative sentences; as, ny tsara no hano,
' the good are those which should be eaten '
{i.e. eat the good).
in hortative sentences ; as, aza ny ratsy no lianina,
' let not the bad ones be those which are eaten'.
USE OF '^NO/'' 49
(2) An adjunct; as, omaly no nanaovany izany, 'it
was yesterday that they did {or, made) that'.
(3) A statement for which a reason is to be given ; as,
ny handrina no tsy manlry vole, ny henatra,
'it is the forehead which is not covered with
hair, shame (causes that) ' ; i.e., shame is the
reason why the forehead is not covered with hair.
In such cases, lib is often added ; as, ny akoho
no ho Vehihe, ny vblony, 'their feathers make the
fowls appear large ^
B. Non-emphatic uses of 'N6^
(1) As a declarative conjunction, 'in that', 'because';
as, nanao soa htanao no niantra azy, ' you did a
g"ood deed in that {or, because) you pitied him'.
(2) As a sign of the past tense of passive verbs in -ana
and. -ina.
(3) As a shortened, form of nbny. This is found in
" Hare-mahasoa", p. 146. Nbny tsy,'h\xt for'.
(4) As a shortened form o^nbho in a comparison (rarely
so used).
KB.— Of 'no', the Rev. W. E. Cousins says :—" The
correct or incorrect use of the particle ' 7ib ' is no unfair
criterion of the skill a European has attained in speaking
Malagasy".
oO A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.
ADVERBS.
In the Malagasy lang-uag-e adverbs^ esjiecially those of
place and time, are numerous.
A. But adverbs of qualiti/ or manner are kw, their place
being- supplied —
1. by adjectives; as, mihira tsara, ''to sing well'. A
more common and very useful idiom, is the re-
versal of this phrase, the adjective still keeping its
adjectival force, wliile the verb is exchanged for a
relative noun in the limiting accusative' case;
as, tsara-filura, 'good as regards the manner of
singing \
2. by prepositional phrases or compound prepositions.
These are formed by joining an- as a prefix to
root-nouns, as an-drariny, 'justly*; to abstract
nouns, as an-hafetsena {Jxom. fetsy) , 'cunningly';
to relative nouns, as ani-pifehezana (from feliy),
'witb authority, authoritatively'; to verbal nouns
in -ana, as an-tsivalanana (from valana), '^cross-
wa3's '; to active verbs in the future tense, as an-
hamandrika (from fcmdriJca), 'with a view to
entrap', 'deceitfully'.
S. by verbs ; as, apr.traha mitsivalana, ' placed
cross ways'.
ADVERBS. 51
13, The Adverbs of neg-ative^ affirmation, or doulDfc, are the
following : —
eny, yes. angaha, angamha, perhaps.
tsla, no. tokonij ho, probably.
tsy, not. sendra, perchance,
aza, let not (the sig-n tahiny, perchance,
of prohibition).
Of the two last words, tahiny is vised of suppositions,
sendra not of suppositions. Thus, sendra nahlta
azy Izy, ' he happened to meet them '; raha tahiny
mahUa azy izy, ' if he should happen to meet them*.
C. The interrogative adverbs are the following : —
1. Of place : —
aiza, (present), talza (past), where?
ho aha (future), whither ? going where ?
avy tatza {lit. came from where?), whence? from
what place ?
2. Of time :—
oviana (past) rahovlana (future), when ?
[contracted from raha, oviana] .
3. Of manner, &c. : —
ahoana, how? (used also as an interjection.
How !)
manao (past, nanao ; future, hanao) ahoana, in
what manner, of what kind or quality ?
[literally, doing what ? or, acting how ?]
52 A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.
atao (past, natlio; future, liatao) ahoana, how?
(implying difficulty or impossibility).
[literally, done how ?]
atao can take as its agent either a suffix pronoun
(as hataoJco ahoana, how can I do it ?) or a
noun (as, hataon' ny blona ahoana no fandbsi-
tra, 'how shall the people escape'? [literally,
what shall the people do as regards a way of
escape?) This last idiom is a common use
of the modal noun.
D. Adverbs of place are very numerous. The following
list shows fourteen of them, which are closely con-
nected with the demonstrative pronouns both in
form and in meaning: —
The chief adverbs of place are the following :
eiy, etc, here ; eo, etsy, eny, eroa, ery, there ;
aty, ato, here ; ao, atsy, any, aroa, ary, there.
These different forms cannot be interchanged at pleasure,
because the choice of one form rather than another depends
upon the distance of the place spoken of.
The forms beginning with a belong rather to the vague
and unseen, while those with e to what is seen, and clearly
]iointed out ; as, aty an-tany, here on earth ; ety an-tanakn,
' here in my hand' ; ad am-hata, in a box' ; eo imasonao,
' before your eyes'.
Repetition of adverbs of place sometimes occurs (as, any
an-cfitra any, ' there in the desert') ; but it is not compulsory,
as in the case of demonstrative pronouns.
Tenses of JJvcrJis — Tlir onlv two kinds of adverbs which
ADVERBS. 53
have tenses are those of (1) time, and (2) interrogation :
and of these, t is the sign of the past tense, and ho of the
future; thus, aty, am here; taty, was here; ho aty, will
be here ; — atza, where is ? taiza, where was ? ho alza, where
will be ?
Adverbial verbs are made from adverbs by putting the
active prefix manh- before them ; as, mankaty, to come
here ; manhamj, to go there. Of these verbs, only manlcany
has an imperative mood {mankanesa) or a relative voice
{ankanesana) , These are made to serve with all the other
adverbs of place; as, mankanesa aty hianao, 'come here';
nahbana no tsy nankanesanao tany ?■ ' why did you not go
there'?
With avy (coming) put before them, they imply ' motion
from', and are equivalent to hence, thence; as, avy eo Izy,
' he is coming thence, he is coming hither'.
Adverbs of place are made indefinite in meaning by being
repeated with ho inserted; as, atohoato (or, ato ho ato),
hereabouts ; teohoeo, thereabouts. They are also often used
to express relations of time (as, tea, recently, lately), espe-
cially when used indefinitely (as, tatohoato, or tato ho ato,
lately).
E. The chief abverbs of time are the followino: : —
Anlo, to-day (future).
Andro any, to-day {jjast).
Omaly, yesterday.
Ampitso, )
-r,, , V . > to-morrow.
Maliampitso, )
Androtriny androtrizay, at that day (jjast).
54 A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR,
Eehefa, rehe/efa, presently.
Raha afaka atsy ho atsy hoTiba, after a time,
{i.e. some days).
Bahatrizay , hereafter (indefinite future).
Falimy, formerly.
Fahizany, fahizay, at that time^ — (faha- is so used
with many words to express past time).
Hatrizay, since the time of.
Eatrizaihatrizay, from of oldj from eternity (in-
definite past).
AnJcehitrlny , ankehitrio, ■»
^ , , . , . , > now, at the present time.
Izao, amin izao, j
Vao faingana (or hamgana), quite recently.
MandrHra mi andro, -j ,, , ,
^ .-,.-, I all day long.
TontoLo andro, j
Mandrahariva [mandraka, until ; hariva, even-
ing-), continually
Matetika, often.
Indraindray [i.e. indray, once re2yeated], sometimes.
Jsaji-an^ro, daily, every day, ) *^"^ ^^ .f.^
" ' '^ used with
Isam-bblana, monthly, every month. I jj^^ny words.
Tuy — intsoui/, no longer, — not any more.
Amin' izaii (present), \
. , . \ , . > thereupon, upon that.
Tam/n tz'iy {past), )
Iliarakamin/zay [miaraka amin' iza^) at that mo-
ment, immediately {present),
niaraka tamin' izay, at that moment, immediately,
{2)a.st).
Sahady, already, so early.
HixhatcOy already, beforehand.
Aza,
even.
I
I
ADJECTIVES. 55
F, The chief adverbs of manner and degree are the
following" : —
Fatratra, earnestly.
Tsimdramora, easily.
Tsihelikelij , little by little.
Tsipbt'ipdtika, piecemeal, in small quantities, bit by
bit.
Loatra, too, exceedingly.
Koa, too, also.
Kbsa, on the contrary, on the other hand.
Avy, S
Avy, apiece, each, individually (as, nomena sikajy
avy izy, ' they were given sixpence each ') .
^ C almost, all but (used of some-
baiky, or saika, | , .
< thing nearly, but not quite,
yaiku, or vama, i ^ , ,.
V eiiected).
respectively, individually, wholly. Samy
precedes, and avokoa follows, the quali-
fied word ; as, samy marina (or, marina
avokoa) Izy rehetra, ' they are all (indi-
vidually) true'.
Hakltro, to the heels. The prefix ha- (short for
hdtra, ' up to ') is so used with the name of
almost any part of the body.
Samy,
Avokoa,
PREPOSITIONS.
There are only a few prepositions in the Malagasy
language, their place being supplied by a large numljer of
prepositional phrases or compound prepositions : these are
formed by prefixing a-, am-, an-, or i- to nouns.
56 TABLE OF THE CHIEF PREPOSITIONS, WITH THEIR
MEANINGS AND GOVERNMENT.
PEEPOSITION.
Amy .
2n7j . . .
Akaiky .
Afa-tsy {hfa-
ka, tsy) .
Amharalca \
Mandraka )
Araka . .
Hatra . .
Ho, ho any .
Noho . .
Tandrify .
MEANING.
to, for, from,
in, by, with,
at or on (of
time), &c.
belonging- to.
near to.
except.
until.
according to,
after. (This
is the root of
the verb yna-
naraha, ' to
follow.
from, to (to-
wards, up to,
as far as).
for, to.
on account of,
because.
opposite to.
GOTEENMENT.
The meaning of amy is so variable,
and it has to serve for so many of
our English prepositions, that it
practically has no special meaning
of its own, but merely points out the
indirect object or the adjunct to a
verb.
Most of the prepositions, whether
simple or compound, are followed by
the sufBx pronouns ; as, amiko, an-
ilako.
Hatra is (1) generally joined with
OMy ; as, hill rainy ny andre/ana ki
katrdmy ny atsinammn , from east to
west; or (2) with adverbs of place:
as ; hatreto, thus far. hitherto ; or
(3) is merely followed by a noun
with ny or izay before it ; as, hcUry
ny oma/y, since yesterday ; hdtr' izay
nainako, since my birth.
Ambdraka and mandraka are
generally contracted and joined with
habitual modal nouns, or with ad-
jectives or phrases preceded by
fdha- ; as, ambdra- (or mdndra-)
pireriko (root verina), until my
return ; mdndra-pdhafatiiry, until
his death. They are rarely followed
by a relative ; as, mdndra-panao-
vanau dzy, until your doing it.
Aka]ky takes either a suffixed pro-
noun or the separate form in the
accusative case ; as, akaiky ando
(or akaikindo), near you.
Noho and dfa-tsy govern only a
nominative case.
Ho takes after it the pronoun azy ;
as, hi) azy, for him, or, to be his.
Otherwise it requires any; as, hd
any ny tcnany, for himself,
Ho azy, also means 'of its own
accord' ; as, manhy ho azy ny hiizo,
' the tree grows of its own accord ';
miseko ho azj, ' visible of itself ',
ADJECTIVES. 57
The following- are the chief prepositional phrases or
compound prepositions made by prefixing a-, am-, an-, or
i- to nouns : —
Afovbana {fb andt'oa? or, /o reduplicated ?), in the
heart of, in the midst of.
Aloha (/o/ia), ahead, before.
Aorlana, behind.
Amdrona [mbrona), on the edge of, on the brink
{or, margin) of.
Atslmo, south of.
Atsinanana {tslnana ?), east of
Avaratra {varatra ?), north of.
{am-)
Amhany {van^?), beneath, below, under.
Arnbony (vdny ?), above, upon,
Ambody {vody), at the rump (or, tail) of, at the
bottom of.
Ambadika [vadika) , on the other side of (i.e. as of a
thing turned upside down).
Amjpovoany (/o and vda? or, fb reduplicated ?), in
the middle of.
Ampita (^ita), on the other side of, across (a river).
Anatreliana [atrika), in the presence of
Anaty {aty), inside of, within, among.
. , / , , . X !- on the other side of.
Andany [iany), )
An-dbha [lolia), on the head of, on, at the head of.
Andre/ana, west of.
58 A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.
Anelanelana (elanelana, from i'la), in the intervals
between, between.
Ariila {\la), at the side of, beside.
Aniula Quia), on the side of.
AnJcoatra [hbatra), beyond, further than.
Ankavia [hatua), at the left hand of.
AnTiavanana {havhnana, from havana), at the right
hand of.
Antenatena {tena), in the body {or, substance) of.
Antampona (tampona), on the top (o?-, summit) of.
(i-)
Ifbtotra {fbtotra), at the root of.
Imaso {maso), in the eyes (o?*, sig-ht) of.
Ivela, (vela) outside of.
Ivblio {vbho), at the back of, behind.
The want of prepositions is also supplied in the following'
ways : —
1. By certain verbs, some implying motion to or from
(as avy, tniala, &c.), others not implying any
motion (as manodldina).
2. By certain active verbs, which contain a prepo-
sitional force and govern a direct accusative, where
in English they would need a preposition; as,
mandaimja hzy, ' to tell a lie to him '; milaza azy,
' to tell about him/ (but milaza aminy, * to tell to
him^.
3. The relative voice of a verb often contains a pre-
CONJUNCTIONS. 59
positional force ; as, nitondrhny rano aJio, ' I was
the person (in respect) to whom he brought water^.
4. Many Malag-asy verbs govern two accusatives,
which in English would require a preposition
before one of them ; as, manbsotra sblilia azy, ' to
smear it with oil'.
5. ''By" before the agent of a passive or relative
verb, and " Of" before a possessive case. — For
the different ways of expressing these two pre-
positions, see "Indications of Gases" .
CONJUNCTIONS.
The chief conjunctions^ divided into classes, are as
follows : —
1. Copulative: ary, sy, amana, amin', and; shdy,
liba, also ; sady — no, both — and; dha, even; mhamy
[mba, amy), together with, including; ambany,
and, including.
2. Disjunctive : nh, or; 7ia — nh, whether — or, either —
or; sa, fa, or ? Ary is used at the beginning of
sentences, or for the sake of variety in enumerations
with sy. Amana couples nouns which usually go
in pairs ; as, ray aman-dremj,' father and mother ';
vblana aman-hintana, 'moon and stars'*; sady adds
a supplementary adjective, verb, or even sentence
containing an additional statement. Sa and fa,
60 A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.
are used in asking* alternative questions only ; as,
handeha va %zy, six, (or, fa) tsia ? ' will they go,
or not'?
3. Adversative : fa, but ; ncfa, Jcandrefa, anefa, ha-
nefa, yet ; kanjo, however, but, nevertheless ;
.mingy (or, sangy), but (only sometimes) ; kanjo
implies the reverse of one's expectation ; saingy
sometimes means hnt ; as, saiky nahavifa izany
izy, saingy tsy mbola vita, ' he was merely able to
finish that, but it is not yet done '.
4). Conditional : raha, nbny (with present or future),
if; nxjny tsy, had it not been for, but for, (/i7e-
ralhj, Mf not', like the Latin nisi.^
5. Causal : fa, for, because (j-easoii) ; na dla — aza,
although (^concession) ; satria, because (cause) ;
saingy, since, seeing that.
6. Declarative : fa, nd, that.
Fa is used after verbs oHelliyig, believing , licking , 4'c.,
to introduce the noun-sentence or statement, like
our English conjunction that.
No is used to express the reason, in the following
way : gaga alio no tsy tonga izy, ' I am surprised
that he has not come'.
7. Inferential : d\a, ary, then, therefore. In this
sense ary is never placed at the beginning of a
sentence. Thus, andiiha ary isika. Met us there-
fore go '; but ary andeha isika, ' and we go '.
CONJUNCTIONS. 61
8. Final (result or consequence), lea, koa, and so, so as;
dia, then ; sao, andrao, lest ; A:a sometimes ' yet',
'and yet' (adversative) ; as, malaza ho lahy, ka, tsy
mandry an-efitra, ' famed as a (brave) man, yet
not lying- (i.e. afraid to lie) in the desert \
9. Temporal ; rliha, relief a, fony, nony, when ; dleny,
whilst, while; dla,, then (of time, signifying- j:>ro-
gression of events). Relief a (ralia efa) means
when in the sense of after ; as, rehefa vita izany,
' when that was finished \ Fony refers to the past;
as, fony tsy mhola ary ny tany, ' when the earth
was not yet created'. Nony implies a succession
of events. Bleny implies something- passing
away ; as, dien^/ mhola tanora hlanao, 'while you
are still young'.
There are three peculiarities noticeable with regard to
Malagasy conjunctions : viz. —
1. They are often in couples ; as, ary dla ; fa satrla.
2. The same word often has to serve for several
conjunctions; as, fa, for, but, that; dla, even,
therefore, then (of time). 3. They generally do
710^ couple the same cases of pronouns ; as, miteny
aminao sy Izahay Izy, ' he speaks to you and us
{lit. we)'.
62
A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.
INTERJECTIONS.
Table of the chief Interjections.
EMOTION
EXPRESSED.
Surprise .
Denial
Desire
Exclamation .
or calling .
Sorrow
Regret
INTEEJECTI0X3.
( endraij, endre, ddre, odre, (pro- "^
\ nouiiced oh-dray) hay, hanky J
f hy (pron. bhy), ehy, aoe, Sana- ~\
\ tria (forbid that) . . )
anle, enga ka, eiidra, anga .
e, u (pronounced oh!), ry, ray, rey
indiisy .....
inay, injay . .
ah ! oh I
( may-! oh that--!
^ would that-!
eh ! ho ! ha !
alas !
( oh that-! would
( that-!
Note. — With regard to the interjection sanatria
forbid that — !), perhaps it had the following- mode of
oriw'in :-
' Sanatry ' is the name of a plant used medicinally by
the Malagasy ; it is also the name given to an earthen pot
when it has been daubed with streaks of coloured earth or
paint in accordance with the directions of the ' diviner ' or
* incantation- worker \ "When so prepared, the pot is carried
to the place where the disease to be removed is said by the
* diviner ' to have had its origin ; the pot is believed to
attract the disease to itself, and is consequently left there,
the person who leaves it exclaiming ' Sanatria,' May it
(i.e., the disease) be sanatry !
In this custom of the Malagasy (whatever its origin) there
is the same idea of vicario2is siiffering which is so familiar
to readers of the Bible, in connection with the scape-
goat, 4'c. of the Mosaic Dispensation.
interjections. 63
General Rules for the arrangement of words in a
sentence.
1. As regards the predicate, its usual place is at the
beginning- of a simple sentence, before the subject. But
it may follow the subject, (a) indicated only by the
sense ; (h) indicated more closely by dJia before it ; or (c)
indicated by no before it, when it applies exclusively to the
subject.
2. As regards the object of an active verb, it immediately
follows its verb ; as, nananatra azy mafy alio, 'I reproved
him sharply\ Unless (as is the case sometimes) an adverb
closely connected with the verb intervene ; as, aza mamcdy
sarotra azy hlanao, 'do not answer him roughly \
3. With a passive verb, the adverb and the object (if
there be one), together with all connected words unless too
long, come near the verb, the subject following last, at the
end of the sentence ; as, natblotro hzy omaly ny vbla, ' I
gave them the money yesterday^, or, the money was given
to them by me yesterday ; nanariko mafy teo imason-
drainy %zy mirahalahy, I reproved the brothers {or, the
brothers were reproved by me) sharply in the presence of
their father'.
IN.B. — When desired, the subject can be put into a
more prominent place, in accordance with exceptions
(a), (6), and (c) to Rule 1. above.
4. A qualifying adjective follows its noun; as, lekilahy
tsara, 'a good man'.
64 A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.
5. A possessive case follows its noun (whethern?/ precedes
it or not). See Rules for Indications of Case. The excep-
tion to Rules (4) and (5) is when a word closely connected
with the qualified noun intervenes; as, nij tanana anlcava-
Tiari-dRalambo, ' the right hand of E,alambo '; ny vahba-
dRanavalona rehetra, ' all the subjects of Eanavalona'.
6. In the case of a passive or a relative verb and its agent,
the agent alwaijs comes next to its verb ; as, novondin' ny
jlolahy tzy, ' he was killed by the highwaymen,'
Even in the case of compound verbs (as, marriindra-fb ,
from Indra and /o), when the passive or the relative con-
struction is used, the agent, and all words closely connected
with it, must come next to the verb, the noun (in this case,
fo) being separated from its verb ; as, (Active) namindra-
fb taminao ny tbmpon-trbsa, ' the creditor showed mercy
to you'. (Relative) namindran' ny tbmpon-trbsa fb
hlanao, 'you were shown mercy by the creditor'.
Short Specimen of Analysis.
Ka bhabblana hely nb hataoJco lib cntiko handa ny
hanaovanao ahy andriamhaventy .
Translation. — And so I will make a little parable {lit. a
little parable shall be made by me), to be used by me in
refusing [lit. to refuse) your making me a judge.
Grammatical Notes.
Ka, final conjunction, 'and so'.
Oliabblana, compound noun, from ohatra, 'measure',
'figure', and volana, 'word', meaning a figure of speech.
INTERJECTIONS. 65
parable, proverb. It is a contraction for bhatra-vdlana, -na
being- rejected and v chang-ed into b ; here it is the nomina-
tive case to hatao. The root vblana (a word) is used by
the Hovas only in the phrase tsy miteny tsy mivblana, ' to
be silent', 'speechless'; but one or two of the other tribes
still use mivblana as synonymous with miteny.
Oha-teny is used as a synonym of bliahblana.
Kely, adjective, qualifying- 6/ia&o?a7ia. It means ^lY^Ze;
its past tense is the same as the present, but its future
is lib hely.
Nb, discriminative particle. Its force here is, " I will
answer you, not by a simple denial, but by making- a
parable ".
HataoliO, passive verb in a- (future tense), from root tao,
which is seen in the noun tao-zavatra, 'manufactures '; -Tio is
the suffixed pronoun, first person singular, denoting the
agent of the passive verb hatao.
Hb entiko, passive verb in -ina, root unknown j a verbal
noun in -ana {entana, luggage, a load) also exists. JEJntina
makes past nentina, like passives in -ina ; but future, hd
entina, like root-passives. Ho entina is here dependent
upon hatao, one future passive following another. Entina
literally 'borne, carried'; but often translated by 'used', as
in enti-manao, ' used in making'.
Handa, active verb in man-, from root la, I being changed
into d for the sake of euphony (future tense) ; it means to
deny, refuse, and is here used as an infinitive dependent on
hb entiJiO, a future active following a future passive.
Ny, definite article, here used to turn the phrase ny
hanaovanao ahy andriamhaventy into a noun.
E
66 A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.
Hanaovanao, relative verb from active verb manao, root
tao ; liei'e used of the act, taken in connection with all its
circumstances; -nao, suffixed pronoun, second person singu-
lar, showing the agent of the relative verb hanaovana.
Ahy, separate form of personal pronoun, first person
singular, objective case.
Andrlambaventy, compound noun, composed of the noun
andriana, 'a. noble', and the adjective vaventy, ' substantial,
large '. It means ' a judge ■': its root is renty, ' substance',
the prefix va- being either a substitute for the usual adjec-
tival prefix ma- {maventy is used among some of the tribes
other than the Hova), or a monosyllabic prefix. Both ciJiy
and andriambavhnty are accusative cases governed by the
relative verb hanaovana. The relative follows the govern-
ment of the active construction, which would be manao
ahy andrlamhavenfy.
APPENDIX TO THE "CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.'
ENGLISH.
HOVA.
II.
ANTAN-
kArana.
in
eAra.
IV.
BETSILfiO.
V.
BETSIMI-
sAraka.
VI.
bezAnozAno.
sAkalAva.
Till,
SraANAKA.
re.
TAIIIORO.
X.
taisAka.
TANAlA (.itB
IKONGO).
TANOST.
XIII.
VEZO (3fd.itiro).
XIT.
?
PnoxorMS.
I
izaho, 4ho
izabo, aho
izabo, abo
abo, afiabo
aho-mb&
izHho, aho
iaho, aho
Thou
He, she, it, they
hianao
izy
(I (pronounced^
re^n^)'""!
bando
asika aby
aiiao
Izy
izy
bianao-mbfe
izy-mbe
hianao
Izy
haiiao, rdky
C iy ( Pronou need 'f
i 'e-e'), anayj
drako
We (excfcsiiie 0/
person spoken to)
1 izahay
ah ay
auay
izebfiy
zabay
Izahay-mbe
Izahay
labay, abay
We {inclusive of
person spoken to)
j islka
aslka
fentsiaua
aika
iBlka-mbe
isika
itBlaua
Ton
hianareo
hauareo
anareo
aiiareo
bianareo-mbe
hlanarco
haiiareo, anareo
CosjrirciiOK8.
When, ii
raha
U
laba
antelnika
Even
dm
dla
dia, lia
dla
Pbepositiobs.
Above
amb&ny
ambdny
ambdny
anainbo
antety
ambiny
Below
ambany
ambkny
ambany
ambany
ankfitraka
ambany
NoriTs.
Father
ray
rey
ray, b.lba
r4y
Papa
dada, ikaky
dda
baba
aba
Uba
iada, dadiy
iada, baba
daday
abn
f dada, baba, 1
I ikiky ]
reny, iendry
iril
dada, baba
Mother
reny
nendry
iendry
endry
niny
reny
Deny
reny
Mamma
neny
nendiy
fendry
endry
niuy
niny
neny, n^nja
neny, Wndry
niny
Tobacco-plant
Indian-com I
fparaky ■)
{ l/r. Arabic?) i
lobaka
paraky
tambako
tambako
lobaka
tambako
tabaka
paj^ky
ftobaka ■)
l(fi.£nglish9))
sata
f tabako,
{ tambako
katsaka
taakots^ko
tsakitaaky
tsilkotaako
taikotsilko
tsaiy
sako
Sweet-potato
Rice
voamanga
vary
bele
f 6 vim an ga, }
I vihazo )
vary
manga
vary
tsimanga
vary
m^nga, belena
viiy
vdamanga
vary
rbokaia, 1
} vorOndro, V
(.hobokalu )
somanga
f vfiamanga, "(
^ vordndra )
vary
begeda
liJ
, let
'Alahamady
Hatsla (-ta)
HatBia
Hatsla
Asiba
Hatsla
Hatsla
Hatsla
!=i
2na
Adaoro
V6laBira
V6laBlra
Valnsira
Valaaira
Vdlaslra
Vdlasira
Vohislra
^=1
3ra
^Adizioza
ZarAy
VMap^osa
Valamp6Ba
Fusa
?
Faosa
Beray
4th
ABftrotany
Maka
V6lamaka
Asara
Maka
Vdlamika
Maka
Maka
^•H
6th
'AJahasaty
Sahiahla
Hlabla
TBiahia
Tsiahla
V6lampadlna
Hiahia
Hiahia
Wi
6th
'Asombfila
Sakamasily
Sakamaaay
SakamaBay
Sakamasay
sakamasay
Sakasay
Sakamasay
III
7th
'Adimizana
Vdlambita
V61ambita
Volambita
Vdlambita
V6lamblta
V()lamblta
Vdlambita
III
8th
'Alakarabo
Sakavi
Asara
Sakav^
Tflimakamaka
Sakave
sakave
Sakavi
111
9th
'Alak^osy
SaramSntBy
Aaaramaniira
Saramantaiiia
Saramantaiiia
Saramantsy
Saramantsy
Fitsamuimbo
-P!-
10th
'Adijady
SaramStiitBa
ABaramanitsa
Sarannanitra
Siramkiiitra
Ashrab6
Saramanitra
Pitsamanitsa
Ill .
11th
Ad^lo
Mianjdloka
A8atriz6nji>na
Asitry
ABdtry
Asitry
Z6ni6 (.„a)
Man]6loka
^iii '1211,
'Aloh6tsy
V^travfttra
Vatravatra
Vatravatra
Vatravatra
Vatmviltra
vatravatra
Vatravatra
Tbe above columna of words are extracted from " A Comparative Vocabulary of tbo chief Dialocta
being due to causes acting over a limited region ; wbilo strong foreign influence limited, however, to
The namee of the tribea are given at the top of each column, tbo Hova words being put first, as
aro here represented respectively by n and n.
of Madagascar " {in tannuscnpt), by tho Author. They aro enough to show that all these dialects form essentially o
one ti-ibo) is seen in the case of the Hova names for tbo months.
this is tho boflt known dialect. Notico that n has two distinct eonnda in the Malagasy language; viz., as n in 'n
' language, the local diflFereno«s
* and as np in ' banger,* which
'■<^^s^ " /^.^£!±f:l!2^
/^
I/-
± k
I ^
f
s
I
■t
la.-]
^.i
^
X > ^
f ^ r
6 y CL
^' J
y y ci
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