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CONCISE GEAMMAE

MALAGASY LANGUAGE.

G.

W. PARKER.

LONDON

TRUBNER &

CO., 57 and 59,

1883.
[_All

LUDGATE

HILL.

rights reserved.']

LONDON
ST.

PRINTED BY GILBERT AND RIVIXGTON, LIMITKD,

JOHN'S SQUARE.

P3
PREFACE.
i

The language spoken by

Madagascar was
or pictures of
until the
tlie

the various tribes which inhabit

essentially a spoken language, no

symbols

nature of writing having been found,

early part of the present century; since which

it

time the English Missionaries, by degrees, reduced

present alphabetic form.

to its

those of our

The characters chosen for it were own English alphabet, with the exception of
c, q,
:

the five letters

u,

iv,

x,

which have no corresponding

all,

sounds

in

Malagasy

but some, or

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

all
it

among

languages, there can be no doubt at

that

it

belongs to

the Malayo-Polynesian group, or that

closest affinity to the

seems to have the

nesian;
people,

although

it

is

Malay proper and the Eastern Polystill a puzzle why the Malagasy

of the

who are chiefly of African origin (with the exception Hova tribe), should use a Malay language.
of infixes
is

The use
the

a feature

which the Malagasy

other languages of

language possesses in

common with
group
;

Malayo-Polynesian

and
the

on

this

subject

Mr. Keane
information:
feature

"The

has

kindly given
infix

following

valuable

syllable
in

which Malagasy has

om {urn, con, om) is a common with Khmer

283G32


iv

(Cambojan), Javanese, Malay, Tagala (Philippine Archipelago), and, no doubt, other

P(^lynesian family.

members of the Malayo-

Ex.

Khmer:
Javanese

slap, dead; samlap, to kill.

:

huruh, flame

hiomurub, to inflame.

Malay
Tag-ala

pillh, to choose; ijamilihan, choice.

hasa, to read

humasa, to make use of reading-.

still

Originally a prefix, as

it

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
is

influence
as follows
:

of

foreigners

upon the

Malagasy language
(1)

The

influence of the

Arabs

is

seen in the
for the

names of
months,

the days of the week, the

Hova names

and in many terms connected with

musical instruments, &c.
(2)

dress,

bed,

money,

The

influence of the English and of the

French

is

seen in
tectural

many
all,

abstract scientific, theological, and archi-

terms, and in the

names of modern weapons.

Above

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
and

Malag-asy

Alphabet contains the

the

same

ktters as the English Alphabet^ with

Cy
c[,

exception of

u,

w, and x.

Vowels
foliows
:

Diphthongs.

These
...

are

pronounced

as

as
...
... ...

a in psalm
a
ee
...
...
...

example^ tana,

(a)

chamaBleon.

e
i

date;

hiy, yes.
lildij,

weep;
too;

...

(a) lock. (a) river.

00

...

bny,

These are the usual sounds of the four vowels.

at,
ei,

ay
ey

\ ^ }

pronounced
...

,.,,.. like in mio-ht.

i
...

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 represent the letter
0,
icpsiloti
:

thus, sijnagogy, synagogue.

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.'

A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR. In writing,

all

Malagasy words are written

of two words
is

in full, except
its

when the

first

noun followed by

possessive case, or a verb in the passive or relative voice

followed by

its

agent.
clearly pronounced,

In speaking, each vowel must be

because often a single vowel
is

the only

means

of distinction
:

between two words dissimilar in meaning.

dlona, a person,

Examples

manana,
^

to possess.
after,

olana, twisting.

manina, to long

manenina, to regret. manenona, to weave.

An
also

elision occurs in speaking usually

when

a final

cf,

not

accented, precedes a word beginning with any other vowel

when

final o precedes a

word beginning with

are h and
i.

o.

Eujohonic Letters.

These

Euphonic h

is

generally inserted
derivative,

(both in speaking and writing) in

when two vowels would otherwise come

first letter
;

together,

of which one would be the

of the root,

and the

other the last letter of the prefix

thus, \hav\any (instead of

i

lamany), from root

avi/.

Euphonic

is

pronounced (but
g, h, k, ng,
viilciasa.

neither written nor printed)

or

when iox y precedes

is

nh ; thus, mihasa,

'

to intend,^

pronoimced

Ajyparent Dij^htJiongs.
often, are

The double vowels

in

eo, io,

found

not true diphthongs, because the sound of each

vowel can be distinguished, unless they are pronounced

too

quickly

moreover,

forming passive verbs, the

Thus,
llo

accent passes on to the second vowel.

passive imperative alebvy
diovy.
;

makes

dio

makes passive imperative

Sometimes,
their

too, the

diphthongs ai and ao are resolved into

;'
'

component vowel-sounds; thus, aidina, poured out


THE ALPHABET.
abrina,
'

built/

In these cases the a

is

a prefix, the rest

of the word being a root.

The
found
:

following"

combinations of vowels are

less

often

ia, oa, oi (or oy), oe, aoe,

is

and

oai.

Final a

changed into y when a word ending in

-na,

-ha, or -tra, is followed either

eei'tain

by the

article ny- or

by
:

proper nouns which do not admit of the article

this

change softens and shortens the sound of the

final

syllable,
cases.

and

also serves to

mark

the genitive and ablative

Ex.

]Sy satrohy ny lehiUihy, the hat of the man.

-^

Andriamanltry Jakoha, \hQ Qodiol 3 iidoh.

Fantatry ny olona,

known by

the people.

Verb.
-lea,

The third example shows that verbs

also follow this rule.

in -na,

or -tra,

Final a

is left

unchanged, in order that the sense

may

not be doubtful,
is

not followed

when a word ending by another word in the

in -na, -ha, or -tra,

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

is

always hard, as in
dz, in
adze.''
i is

'

gold.'

j as

s before e

and

pronounced as a soft sh
;

(ex.

misy

pronounced m\sh)

otherwise

it is

always pro-

nounced as
z as z, in
'

s in

'sun'

(ex. Isa, one).

zone.'

A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.

The

and the

are never confounded in

Malagasy as

the English word surprise.

Double Consonants.
dr,

The following are commonly used

and
^6'.

dz

(or j), tr,

These have the force of single

syllable or a word.

letters,

and may begin a

ng, mb, vnp, also used often to begin words,

seem to

have arisen out of the

fuller

forms ang, amb, and

other dialects

amp, which
Hova,
n and
ni

still

survive
:

among

than that of the Hovas

ex.

Sihanaka, ambainy

mbamy

('together with, including').

:

are often used to close syllables

t,

is

so used before d,

dr, dz {px j),

tr, ts, g,

and

k.

m
Hence the rule {not a compound)
or
Jii
:

b or p.

when

ii

or

in the

body of a word
9t

is

followed by another consonant, the

is

the closing letter of the preceding syllable.

With

this one exception all syllables

end in a vowel.
d, g, h,

As n
in the

will

combine only with

and

t,

and

only

with b ov p, the only combinations of consonants allowable

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
h
I

..

replaced by p. .. k or g.
.. ..

r is strengthened
s
. .

by

d,
t,

becoming
., ..

dr.
ts.

..

d.
b.

..

..

d,

dz

..


EUPHONIC CHANGES.
These euphonic changes
quired
:

9
are
re-

among"

consonants

(1)

In forming derivatives that take a pretax ending

in
71

or m. or

(2)

When n
case.

is

inserted between

two words

as

the sign of an indefinite possessive or ablative

(3)

In contracting words ending in -na by throwing

away the
syllable.

final a, so

shortening the word by one

But no euphonic change

syllable -na
is

is

needed (1) when the w/wle

rejected before a

word beginning with

m
:

or or

thus, manam'pina-mctso becomes inanampi-maso

(2)

when

the

of possession

(short for -ny)

is

similarly

rejected before a

noun beginning with

{i.e. tears).

or

n;

thus, rano-

maso, "eye-water'^

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

closed the preceding syllable.

These

final syllables (if

not

contracted)

are

always sounded lightly, although they

falls

become almost mute when the accent

on the antepenult.
is

When

followed by a consonant, the sound of final a

always kept.

When
replaced
hat.'

a word

ending in -na,

-ha, or -tra,

is

joined

with another word beginning with a vowel, the

final

is

by an apostrophe

thus, satrok' olona,

'

some-one's

From

the fondness of the

Malagasy

for contractions, the


10 A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.

relationship of the second of

preceding(1) It

two contracted words

:

to the

word may be any one of these ten things

be a jyossessive
case;
as,

may

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,
(4)

loJco)

'

to

smear with paint/

as,
*

a limUing accusative;
{tsara,

tsara-fanahy
as

fanahy),

good

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;
lb),

as, iiy

fonosin-db {fonbsina,
is

'the thing that

wrapped up

is

putrid/
(8)

an adjective;
'

as,

zdva-tsba {zavatra, sba),

good things/
as,
'

(9)

a verb in the infinitive mood;

nasdi-

nanab
to

{nasalna,

nanab),

bidden

do/
;

(10)

an adverb

as,
'

m/petra-pbana (inipetrakaj

fbana),

to sit about idly/

11

ROOTS.
In any language the study of the
important, but this
is

7-00^5

of the words

is

more

especially the case derivatives,

with the

Malagasy language, because the

are very varied.
passive), nouns,

though regular,

These roots are chiefly verbs (active and

and adjectives; but some of the pronouns, and interjections may

adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions,

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
is

by assuming
accented was

that the syllable preceding that which

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.
like the

These secondary roots are treated exactly

;

primary roots in making verbs, &c. from them

is

and their accent

always on the second syllable.

Of

these prefixes, kan-, san-, and tan- are treated like

q.v.

the active prefix ma7i-;

infixed

Besides these,

we

find

an

syllable

om

inserted into a
first

root of either kind

immediately after the

consonant, apparently only the

transposed form of a prefix

mo

(=?7ia)

thus, tdny, tomdny.

12

A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAU.

Table op the
PREFIX.

chiei-'

varieties of these Prefixes.


EOOTS.
(ov lalao), 'play;' salasala, 'doubtful/

13

With regard
-Txa,

to

roots which end in S3'llables other than

-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 Manda, to deny

Zdky, elder
;

manainpindmpy, to keep on adding.

mandanda,

to

deny repeatedly.

zoJchijoky, still older.

Dissyllaljic

roots ending in -ka, -na, or -tra,

;

may

be

either simply repeated or contracted

thus, in mitmuitana,
is

'to be open' (as the mouth),

in miiantana,
'

the root
is

repeated, while

to hold/ the root

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
(1)

seem to show

They

are sometimes disused, especially in dialects

other than the

Hova;

as,

ir ay

and iralka, and

words ;

ha and

uaka,
(2)

for 'one.'

They are interchangeable

in certain

as, jpdtsika

and potsitra.
(3) Dissyllabic roots,

used in a sense allied to that of the

longer forms, are not rare.

trisyllabic words, viarXa, riaka,

Thus, dissyllabic root rla

rlana; tetrasyllabic words,

tsorlaka, korlana.


14
Rule.

A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.

In
;

reduplicating* a word,
;

remember

(1)

that the
is

prefix is never altered

{H)

that the primary root alone

reduplicated
syllable,

and

(2) that

when the accent advances one

is

owing
(I.e.

to the addition of an affix, the first part of

the word

prefix

and primary root)

never altered,

all

changes occurring" in the

last part of the

word.

Thus

Primary root
Ditto, with prefix
. .

dlo,
.

fbtofra.
afototra.

mad]o,

Do,, with prefix reduplicated,

Do., with prefix reduplicated,

madiodXo,

afotopbtofra.

with accent shifted

madiodiovy,

afbtopotbrana.

Contracted adjectives and some verbs with active prefixes

keep the

or

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.
root to be redu-

Or an n

is

inserted, especially

when the

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

cated, primary, or secondary)
prefix, or (2)

(single, redupli-

by appending

to the root (1) a

affix.

an

affix, or (3)

both prefix and

zara.
.

Thus

root

root with prefix

root with affix
root with both
.

mizara.
zaraina.
tzarana.

E00T3.

15
find

Sometimes
vowel

it

is

difficult

to

out the root, owing(2), to a

(1), to the loss of its tirst

consonant; or
in the

change
its

in its

or (3), to a

change

consonant of

final syllable.

Brief Rules for Accentuation.

I.

Boots, both

primary and secondary, seem always to

first

have the accent on the

syllable of the

primary root,

whether the root be two-syllabic or three-syllabic.

N.B.

A secondary
roots.

root

may

be regarded as a primary
7ioi alter

root plus a monosyllabic prefix, which does

place of the accent.

the

Reduplicated

As

only the primary root (and not

still

a prefix)

is

reduplicated, the above rule

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

when
word

-l-a,

-na, or -tra^

are contracted

reduplicated, although they

times be reduplicated without contraction.

ters in the reduplicated
II. Derivatives.

may someNo change of letan accent

alters the place of the accent.

alters the place of

No prefix

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.
accent

A few
to shift
first

roots (chiefly monosyllabic) do not allow the

at all

and in a iew cases the accent

the word mika-

(apparently contrary to the above rule) goes off the root

on to the

syllable of the affix

to).

(as in

toavina, from root

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 antepenult.

VERBS.
The Malagasy Verb has three
passive,
voices,

the active, the

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.

are

No

changes

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.
(1)

NAME. Root, primary

..

EXAMPLES.
.
. .

MEANING.
to eat.

liumana

secondary
(2)

bomehy

(liehy)

...
.

to laugh.

withtafa-.

..

primary.
secondary

tafalatsaka

(/a;s(//>;a)

fallen

down.

tafat3imbadika(i-dd(A;a)

overturned.

(3)

with simple active prefix.

)

Mi, with primary root, milatsaka {latsaha).

Mi, with secondary root, mianjera {zira)
.

^
.
. _) . .

^'"^^^

down.
better.

Miha

mihatsara

[tscira)

to

become

Man Maha
(4) Causative of (3
(o)
)

maneso

(eso)

....
.
.
.

to tamit.

mahar o
.

(dro).

to be able to protect.

mampilatsaka
mifaneso
(eo)

(Mteni-at)
.
.

to cause to fall

down,

Reciprocal of (3)

to taunt one another.

(6) Reciprocal
of (3)
(7)

causative
.

mampifaneso

(eso)

to

ask

permission of

Causative
of (3)

reciprocal
. .
.

one another.
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.


18

A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAi:.

Mi; Man-,
active prefixes.
3Ii-

and Malm-, are the three most common

(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 contracted forms of the verb manab, to do, or make/ used as
'

a prefix.

Media- (contracted into Mali- before a vowel)

tracted form of the verb

is

a conis

Mahay,

'

to be able,'

This

the

most widely used

prefix in the

Malagasy language,

as it

may

be added to almost any word or phrase.

is

Malta-

used to express (1) power to perform an action,

it is.

(2) that which makes a thing what

N.B.

Mana- and Maha'

are often

confounded

but

their difierence is well

shown by the following example, where

good
')

the same root {tsdra,

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
g,

begins
;

with

vowel

or

with the

consonants d,

simj)ly

apply the prefix,

and make

no chang-e.


VERBS.
b.

19

If the root beg-ins with

:

any consonant except one of

these three

The
or,

first

consonant of the root

is

rejected :~k,

s, t, tr, ts,

and sometimes

h, are rejected.
is
;

The

first

consonant of the root

;

changed

h some;

times becomes g

becomes d

becomes dr

be-

comes y
or,

(dz),

The

first

consonant of the root

to

is

rejected

and

ihe pre-

fix

changed {from manv

is

mam-)
h,

before

h, v,

f, or p.

But sometimes
Before

changed into
is

or o itself

is

kept.

or n, the prefix

contracted into ma-.

is

Ma-

(or

M-f before vowels)

a shorter form of

Man-,
of

which forms a few transitive verbs, but a large number

adjectives usable as verbs.

Rules for the formation of the Imperative

Active Verbs.
(1) Affix -a, (2)

Mood of

unless the

word already ends

in a.

Shift the accent one syllable forward, unless the root

is
is

a monosyllabic diphthong

or, unless

the root

two-syllabic, but with the accent on the last

;

syllable

or, unless

the root
tra-.

is

two-syllabic, but

ending in -ha-na, or
(3)

Sometimes
:

also one or other of the following

changes

are necessary

Change

of a

consonant preceding the

final

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

of the accented syllable, viz. ai into
e.

among

the vowels

The government of

cases

by Malagasy verbs

is

often

puzzling, because, while

many

verbs govern direct accusacimy to be inserted

;

tives, others require the preposition

between them and the cases they govern

again,
'

while others,
aviiiiy,
'

have both
;

constructions.
'

Thus, miteuy
'

to

speak to him

miteny azy,

to

reprove him

[i-e.

to

speak at him).

Again,

many Malagasy
refer to

verbs

take

two

accusatives,

which may

person and

thing, instrument and

object.

object, or limiting accusative

and

Passive Voice.
Table of the various forms of the Passive Voice.
NAME.
1
2.
3.

EXAMPLE.
tapaka
voasasa (sasa) ....
zaralna (zara) ....
tsinjaraina (zara)
(tsara)

MEANING.
cut
off.

Roct passive
Passive in voa. .
* .

^vashed.

-ina.
.

from primary root

,.
. , .
.

divided.

secondary root,
abstract

divided into

lots.

noim . hatsaralna compound proposition

made

good.

ampoizina
r
y
,

(fo) ....

expected.

antsakaina (tsaka)
retaining an- of verb f
in
.
.

fetched

(of

water from

/ -i.anavaratma (ava>

a
^

-well).

n\

man-

. .

^.^j.^.^^^

^ ^

moved northwards.
hated.

a7ika- of verb

in

manka-

. .

ankahalaina (hala)

VERBS.
NAME.
Passive retaining amptive
of

2i
MEANING.

EXAMPLE.
causa-

verb in

mamp.
. .

ampilazama

(laza)

...

caused to
be told,

tell

or to

ampif- of causative-reciproeal

verb
. .

in
..

mamp'if
4.

ampif andabarina..
(lahatra)

caused to plead against

one anotber.
'wbitened.

Passive in -ana
only)

(y/-o? roo^s
-

fotsiana (fotsy)

. .

5.
6. 7.

.. ..

..

-ena

vonjena (v5njy)
asebo (sebo)

..

saved, belped.

..a-

....
.

sbown.
cut
off.

Transposed passive

tinapaka (tapaka)

Root-passive means a root-word containing- a passive idea

and usable as a passive verb.

The

difference (usually existing)

in a-, -ana, or -i/ia
is

between a root-passive
that the former usually

and a passive

calls attention to the idea

contained,

leaving the agent

calls attention

almost out of consideration, while the latter

to the agent as well as to the act.

The imperative mood

perative

of a

root-passive

(like

the

im-

mood
:

of an

adjective)
'

has usually an optative

meaning

as sitrana,

may

(lie)

be healed.'

But

sitrano,
si-

the imperative passive of the verb mana.sitrana (from

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
idea.

another
-ina

but both give almost a "pluperfect "

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.

this,

noon ; with regard to

remember that

the ahstrad

noun
:

ends in ana, while the passive verb ends in ina.

Jiatsarana (abstract noun), goodness;
verb),

Example

haisaraina {passive

made

to possess goodness,

made good.
i

As
voices.

regards causative verbs, the

of the

affile is

the only

visible distinction

between their passive and their relative

Example:

passive, a ?>/>aiioZt'iti; relative, a 7?aja-

iwloana, root solo.

The
Eide

passive in a- (which is very

common)

calls attention

priucij.ally to

the position or state of the object,

for distinguishing the use of the passive in a,

:

from

the use of the passive in -ana

^Vhen a verb governs two

other of
is effected,

accusatives, the one of the object acted on, the

the instrument or means with which the action

the
fi
Jrrff :

" i? made
ive
:

the nominative of a passive in a-, the

in -ana.
:
.

Example -^:" - -:
/.
is
.

to anoint it with oil

Uii

is

here the nominative of

i2y (the

so^ZiA-a

thing anointed

here the nominative of the verb hosorana,)

X.B.

" The non-observance of

into

this rule

may
the

lead the

foreigner

gross

absurdities/'

says

Rev,

W.

E. Cousins.
Passives in a-change
perative
their

accent

only in their im-

mood;

thus, root haro, aharo (indicative}, aharoy

(imperative).
ni- or
tio-

Transposed passives are formed by prefixing

to a root,

and then transposing the

a-, -ana,

and the

first letter

of the root ; as, fapaJia, nitapaka, tinapalia,

Eule,

iu

forming the passives in

and

-t'jia,

the relatives, and the imperative m-xni in verbs of

all

VERBS.

23
one or
the following five changes

voices

aud

classes,
:

all of

are necessary
1.

Append

the characteristic termination

-iua, -ana, or -ena, for the indicative

mood

passive

voice; -ana, and -ena, for the indicative

relative voice.
-o (or -y, if o is already contained in the root

mood
for

the imperative

mood
-e) for

of all relative verbs

and

of passives in
-a (in a few cases

a-, -ina,

and -ana.

the imperative of a root,

and
~.

for all active imperatives.

^fove the accent one syllable forward.

the root has one syllable only
;

Exceptions

when

syllables,

when the root has two the second being accented when the root has two
;

syllables, the second

3.

ending in
-Jia,

-7ia,

-ka, or -tra.

For

roots in -na,

and

-tra,

a change occurs in
:

the consonant preceding the

characteristic termination
r,
t,

k becomes h or /; becomes m.
4.

tr

becomes

or

/;

(often)

Insert

s,

v,

orz, before the characteristic termination.

i

0.

Alter a vowel, usually of the accented syllable; as,

e,

(or y) into a or
ia (that
is, /

and

ai into

e.

of the root and a of the affix) are sometimes

e
;

contracted into
into vonjetia.

as, root vonjy,

passive vonjiana contracted

Rule for choosing ichich voice (active or passive) is to When " the agent and his act " are most in your be used thoughts, choose the active voice when " the result oj the'

24
act"
is

A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.

most

in

your

thoug-lits,

choose the passive voice.

The Malagasy usually

Rule for
two
the use of

prefer the passive voice.

tJie

passive voice of verbs

accusative

ivJiich

govern

accusatives:

Either

may

be made the

nominative of a passive verb.

N.B.
(viz. in

When
a-

two passives

exist

from

the

same root

and -ina) take care

to choose the right one.

Relative Voice.

The
use

relative voice is one

which

is

peculiar to the

Malagasy
first, its

language; and, although somewhat puzzling at

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

voice)
:

relative

voice

(from the active

2.

Omit the

m of the active prefix.

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.

thitt

The government
is

still

remains

of

the active verb, but the agent

ex-

pressed by the
passive.

sufl[ix

pronoun, as

if

the verb were really

Some
what
in

relative verbs are

also used for the passive voice,

and their meaning must be found from the context.

has been said of the twofold
is

Also,

meaning of

active verbs

maha-

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

is

verb

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.

Indirect object
{i.e.

(b)

one which would be preceded

if it

by the preposition amy

followed a verb,

whether active or passive).

(c)

An

adjunct of time (point, duration, or repetition).

place
(in,

towards, or from).
or measure).

mode (manner,

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
verbs, n
is

adjectives, so with the tenses of

Malagasy

the sign of the past, and h of the future.


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

doing, has begun to do and
.

less 'completeness.'

Examples
is siiW

Efa manao,

is

doing (incomplete present)

Efananao, was
or,
is

in the

act of doing {incomplete i^erfect)

perfect, pluperfect).

had done {completed

just about to
do,
is

Efa hanab,

on the point of doing [incomplete future)

Compound Future
before a past tense
;

Tense.
as,

This

is

formed by putting ho
'

nanao ho nankati),

he intended to

come

[or to

have come) here/

The various uses of

the Infinitive

Mood.

The
(1) as

indicative

mood may be used

as,

in

any voice or tense ;

an adjective or as a
to be understood
;

participle, especially

when

noun
(deed)

is left

mj manana,

'

the (men)

possessing,' the possessors,

done;'
(3)

i. e. the rich ; ny nafao, ' the ny handidlana, the (instrument, &c.) for

cutting.
infinitive

It

may
as,

be used where in other languages an

viz. either as a
'

would be required,
article
;

noun, usually
or
'

with the
thieves.*

ny mangaiatra,

stealing,'

the

(N.B.

In such cases
(it).'

the meaning must be

made
'is

clear

by the context, or

else it

remains doubtful)
as,

or

as de-

pendent on another verb;

asaiJco

manao,

bidden

by me

to do

28

A COXCISE MALAGASY CrwVMMAR.

The dependent
but, among- the

verb, and that on which

it

depends, are

not necessarily of the same voice or of the same tense;

many

possible combinations

made

in this
:

way, the following two Rules should be remembered

(1)

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 The Hortative mood

is

expressed by the indicative

mood

preceded by a conditional conjunction {raha, nbny, &c.).

is

expressed

either

by an impe-

rative passive with the suffix

pronoun,

as anarontsikaf

Met him be reproved by us'

aolca, or

{i.e. let

us reprove him); or
or andeha, as

by an indicative future preceded by abha

andeha, hihira isika,
is
'

let

us

sing.-*

(N.B.

Of these
'

two, aoka
future;

never followed by any other tense than the

andeha, usually by the future, but sometimes by

the present, as in the phrase andeha

fetch (some) water/)

maka

rano,

go (and)

A prohibition
as in

is

expressed, not

by the imperative mood,

many

languages, but by the indicative

mood preceded

by

aza. In this case the verb (in the indicative)

voices.

may belong
for

to any of the three

Ex.: aza miteny h]aniio, 'do not

is

speak.

(N.B.

As there

no exact equivalent

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.
tay

malulzo

manao, not able to do do

(bocanse hindered).

Mahay, implying

ability or skill.

tsy

mahay

maniio,

not

able to

(absence, or deficiency, of

skill).

Meiy, implying consent, willingness,

tsy

mety mnnao,

not willing to do

(absence of consent ).
Till,

implying desire, wish.

existence.

tsy

ta-hando,

not

desirous

to

do

(absence of wish).

Mhy, implying

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.


30
'

A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.

wish that to he done/

Otherwise tia

is

contracted into

ta- before a future beg-inningas,

with ha- (hamj)-, han-, &c.)

th-

ta-hanao izdny aho, 'I wish to do that:' or into

as,

before a future beg-inning with hi- or ho;

*

te-hilaza,
(i.e.

wish to

tell ;' te-hofati/,

'

wish to be a dead body'

wish

to die).

The
mctj/,

active

and

relative

forms of mahazo, manao, and

active voice
;

must be followed by an
an

but the passive

forms azo and hay, take either a passive or a relative after them,
iiot

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 mandainga ny olona, some of the people tell lies.'
'

31

NOUNS.
TABLE OF NOUN-rOEMS.
EXAMPLE.


32

A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR,.

another noun
trano-fivava-

as before (/ only adding" the idea of habit)

is

often put before

'

it^

to limit its

meaning;

as,

hana,

a house for prayer.'

N.B.

Do not use the habitual noun of the agent (which

Ex.:

always begins with m-p-) for an agent not necessarily

habitual.

mpambno, a man who

'

often
'

and habitually
perhaps

murders/ a regular assassin ; mamono,

only once murders.^

man who

The

abstract nouns in ha~ and faha- are really habitual

in

modal nouns derived from verbs

noun
-ny.
difference in

maha-

they are similar

in meaning, and are seldom used without the suffix pro-

The

meaning between these abstract nouns,

is

aceording to Pere Webber,

as follows

hatsara shows intrinsic goodness, worth.

hatsarana shows extrinsic goodness, or goodness embodied 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 caseindications are necessary
:

For an

accusative case, its position

immediately after or

close to its verb.

For an accusative
all

case, the particle

any (which precedes

proper names and some pronouns).

NOUNS.

33
:

For a possessive or an ablative case

{a)

When

the noun

is

made
tranon'

definite

by the

article ny,

the governing word (whether noun or verb) takes the suffixed

pronoun
friend
'.

-w?/ (or n');

as,

ny salmiza, 'house of the

in -na, -ha, or tra,

Or, if the governing

word end
;

the

final

-a

is

changed into -y

as,

fantatry ny vlona,

'known by the people

(h)

When
')n

the noun

is 7iot

made

definite

by the

article,

either

or

n (regardable
is

as contracted forms of the suffix

as,

pronoun -ny)

inserted

halam-h alio aha,

'

hated by
-ha,

(the) people^; or, if the

governing word end in -na,

or -tra, a contraction occurs with

some euphonic change

con-

among the
sonants.^

consonants.

[See

Euphonic changes among

omission of the article
'

For a vocative case

the

as,

Rainay izay any an-danitra,

heaven
^;

Our Father who

(art)

in

or,

the use of ry {ray, or rey) before the vocative

it.

case, or o after

Special uses of the Nominative and Accusative Cases.

The nominative
reference

is

often used absolutely, at the beginto' or 'in

ning of a sentence, where we might say 'as

to'.

The

accusative, besides indicating the object,

;

may

be

(adverbial) used as an adverb of time or of place

(instrutzy,

mental) used of an instrument, as namely sahatra anao

'he struck you (with) a sword
';

(limiting) used to limit the

meaning of an adjective
any of the three
voices).

or a verb (which verb

This last

is

a very

may be in common use

c

of the accusative case.

. .

34

A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR,

ADJECTIVES.
TABLE OF ADJECTIVE FORMS.
NAME. r primary
Singla root

EXAJtPLE.
.

MEANING.
good.
..

tsara

^ secondary
(
(.

sahirana (hirana)
tsaratsara
,

perplexed,
tolerably good, goodish.

Reduplicated
root

primary.

secondary

sahirankirana (hirana)
slightly perplexed.
. .

Adjective in wia-jUncontracted,
Ditto,

maditra (ditra)

obstinate.
.

contracted.,

maozatra

(ozatra).

sinewy, tough,

(a combining with the fol-

lowing
thong).

or

to

form a diphbefore

Adjective in
Ditto,

?n-,

or

marina (arina)

level, true.

before Aa- or

/ie-

mafy (hafy)
madiodio
(die)

hard.

Reduplicated adjective in ?or in Hi-

rather clean.
not level, untrue.

Negative adjective
Adjective with limiting accusative
Antithetic
tive

tsi-marina (arina)...

tsara-bika
adjec-

good as regards shape.

(but) famous.

compound

keli-malaza

little

The
is

scarcity of true adjectives in the

Malagasy language
free use of verbs
;

supplied in various ways, viz.

by the

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,

moxdlxing
',

moutlied ',

both from

'

mouth'.
;

By
By
-able

the use of nouns for our adjectives of material

(of)

as,

trano hazo, 'a house

wood^,

i.e.

wooden house.
eaten

the use of the auxiliary verb dzo for our adjectives in

and

-ible; as, azo

hanina, 'able

(to be)

^,

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

deg-rees of comparison.

to
is

show the

comparative degree

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
some

be used absolutely, the compared

;

ol)jcct being-

supplied
'

mentally

as,

tsaratsara

koJioa %o,

'

that

is

better

(than

other).

Or
being-

the simplest form of the adjective

(the
it
;

may

be used as a

superlative, no

emphatic and discriminative particle)

as, iza

put after
?
'

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 explained by the following examples
(a)
:

From Fable XII.: mafy kba

From Luke
desire have

ralia mafij, 'hard, if

(there be anything) hard\

(h)
'

{Adjectiue.)
:

xxii.
';

15

Naniry koa raha nanlry

Alio,

desired, if I desired

or, as

our Authorized Version says,

(

With

desired.

Verb.)


36

A CONCISE MALAGASY GKAMMAR.

Table of Degrees of Comparison rf Adjectives.
DEGREE.
Positive
r^
.

tsara
f tsara

Comparative
Saperlative.

X-

^ ^garatsara

kokoa kokoa

better.
)
)

C tsara indrindra

best.

^ tsara dia tsara

.

B.

Comparative,

tsara
f

noho

better than.

tsara kokoa nobo ^ tsaratsara koa (or tsara lavitra

kok6a noho) a

little

better than.

noho

far better than,

Superlative.

tsara

amy ny

rehetra,

best of

all.

tsara indrindra

amy ny

very best

of all.

Tenses of Adjectives.

The Rule
follows
:

for forming"

the tenses of adjectives

is

as

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.
the Te7ises of Adjectives.

Tabular view of


ADJECTIVES.

37

On

looking- at these five adjectives it will be noticed

first

that the
syllable
;

of

them alone has the accent on the second

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
first class,

is

on the second syllable,

it

belongs to the

and begins with ma- uncontracted.

is

If the accent
its

on the

first

syllable,
its

ma-

either has

a suppressed (as in marina), or

i

a forms a diphthong
in

with the
malnty).

or

of the root-word of the adjective (as

Imperative and Optative Moods ofAdjectives.

Any

adjective can be

made imperative

or optative

by

following the
root-passives
;

rules given for active

verbs

or those for

and either the meaning of the adjective, or

determine whether a

else the context, will

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
transitive sense,

adjectives,

and some

others,

have a quasitheir

and govern a direct accusative as

complement
them'.
in

as,

/eno azy ny

trcmo,

'

the house

is full

of

In English we require a preposition in such

cases,

Malagasy no preposition.

38
adala,
akciihj,
'

A CONCISE MALAGASY GRA^IMAR.

foolish
'

about
'.

'.

mhnina,
mctnitra,
to'.

'

longing after

'.

near to

'

perfumed with
'

'.

antonona/^t for'/ suited

malmbo,
sively

smelling

offen-

ampy, 'enoug-h
hetsal-a,
'

for'.

of.
'

'having-

much
'.

oi',

malahl'lo,

grieved
for'.

about

'

abounding' in
'

'sorrowing
of
',

he,

having

many
in
'.

mamo,

'intoxicated with'.
'suitable
for',

'abounding
dlhoTia,
')
,

mendriJca,
.

>

'

ruli 01

^^

a
'.

'worthy of.
sahy, 'without fear of.
sasatra, 'tired
taliaka,
*

feno,

)
'

gaga,

surprised at
^^^^^^

of.
',
'

henilm,-^

like

similar

^^,
to'.

hihoka, I
lubolxa (only another
dlholia).

form of

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.

PEONOUNS.
Plural Number.

39

First, inclus.
,y

inha
izahay
Jnanareo
Izy

antsika.

-7ifs\Ica

-tslkc

exclus.
.

anay.
atiareo.

-nay
-nareo

-ay.
-areo.
-n', -y.

Second
Third
Izaho

azy.

-ny
is

is

more emphatic than aho, and

generally used
its

when

the predicate follows, while aho usually follows

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

article

is

mine'.

(2) for

any

case,
;

with the
as,

prefixed

(the

noun
the

being- understood)

hito

ny ando,

'being* thine'

(lit.

of thee)

The inseparable
(1) (2)

or suffixed forms

may

denote

possessive case; as,

ny

vblaho,

'my

money'.

An

ablative case,
;

showing the agent of a passive or

'

a relative verb
less often
as,

as, voasasojko,

washed by me'.

They

are

used with adjectives in this instrumental sense

?
'

flry ny olona izay efa hendrinao

How many
'

are the

people
(3)

who have become

wise through you ?

after verbs,

An

indirect objective case,

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
is

there

is

no reflexive pronoun in Malagasy, tena (body)

as,

used for self;

nambno

tena izy,

'

he killed himself.

The Rule
is

for

attaching the suffix pronouns to any word

(1)

as follows:
;

For words not ending in -na,

-ka, or

-tra

attach the full form of the suffixed pronoun, without

(3)
is

contraction.
if

For words ending in -na,

-lea,

or -ira;

the accent

on the antepenult, take one or other of

suffixed pronouns,
last syllable.
full

the contracted forms of the

and either

throw away or shorten their

is

If the accent

on the penult, either the

be used
;

or the contracted forms

may
in

as, tratro

and tratrako, 'my chest ^;

contracted forms
as,

except
pro-

the case of passive and relative verbs and relative nouns

in -ana,

when only the

used
;

of these
',

nouns
'

may be washed by me '.

sasana,

'

washed

sasako,

Examples of
1.

the modes of attacliment of suffixed Pronouns.

To words
NOUN.

not ending in

-?za,

-ka, or -tra.
PREPOSITION.

VERB.
Azo, got.
azoko,
got by mo.

V61a, money.
('v61ako,

Amy,

to, at,

&c.

my

money.
or her

amiko, to mo.

^ J v51anao, thy money.

Jj3

^zonao,

j
(^

volany,

his

azony,
(her, or

thoo. him,
it).

aminao, to thee.

aminy, to him (her, or

it).

money.

/'volanay, our
fc.-

\ vcilantsika,

money. our money.

azonay,

,,

us.

aminay, to us.
amintsika, to ns.

p;;

volanareo, your money,

J

azontslka azonarco,
azony,

us.

you.

aminareo, to you.
to

(volany, their money.

them, aminy,

them.

PRONOUNS.
2.

41
(N.B.

To words

ending" in

-?ia,

-Jia,OY-tra.

Only-

nouns are here given as examples, but verbs are treated in

exactly the same way.)
Harona, a basket.
/'haroko,
bb
J

Satroka, a hat
satroko,

or, hats.

Hevitra, a thought,
hevitro,

my

basket.

my

hat.

my

thought,

haronao, thy basket.

satrokao, thy hat.

hevitrao, thy thought,

jn

barony,
I
(,

his

(or

her)

satrony, his (or her)

hat.

heviny,

his (or her)

basket.

thought,
hevitray, our thought,
hevitsika, our thought,

Charonay, our basket.

satrokay, our hats.

satrotsika, our hats.

^
5J

j
)

harontsika, our basket,

haronareo, your basket,

satrokareo, your hats. he vitrareo,your thought,

v^harony, their basket.

satrony, their hats.

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
is

while by inserting za another class of these

pronouns

formed, expressing the unsee7i, remembered,

as

or conceived,

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

42

A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.

ADVERBS OF PLACE.
{Object

NUMERALS.
o ^^ ^ g ^_^;^ -^

4S

15 =y

plicatives,

These are made by prefixing fan- to the Multiand are seldom used in the higher niim-

bers.

They are
(in

treated as nouns, take the Buffis

^ S

i 'S o S S^a

'

c2 iS

'^

which respect they resemble the Fractionals), and may be followed by a possessive
pronoun -ny
case.

o o

sit
.s .s .H .s .2 .a . .3 .

'g

^ p ^
HH

-^

-5

a,

.a

.a .s .a .a .a .a .a

.2.2

.a .5 .s

j^
>^
^2;

"^ "3
B.ljf
:

t>

^
^
n'

2^
o
fcc

rt

-S

The Fractionals are made from the Cardinals by prefixing ampaha-, and then affixing -ny. ^^' ^^'O'^ *^^ Ordinals by prefixing aw-, changing

^J-Sn'a

'^ '^ "^

y into

/j,

and then affixing

-ny.

They are generally followed by a suffixed pronoun

or a possessive case: and the numerator of a fraction is expressed, as in English, by a Cardinal ; as,

K'CjS

^^la^
:5-^&^*^
-l^l^,i "

Q
Eq

'^^T-.
a ~' <i-

roa

d(y(/)aA'(^e/oj/,

'two-thirds of

it'.

^ ^
K* Eh "^
i^

loha,

o
"'^

.a

'3

g
S

'^
cf

^'^"

is the iisual word for ) the Ordinals are merely the Cardinals with faha- prefixed to them, as in the case of

Voalohany (from
'.

'head

'

first

The remainder

of

fe

7^

fahiraika.

< O


44
N.B.

A COXCISE MALAGASY GRAMIIAR.

The Multiplicatives
in-,

are

made from

the Cardinals

by prefixing

and maldng euphonic consonantal changes

:

only in the following few cases

pltojJolo,

nf into mjJ
{imhdlo,

{impito,
;

imns

impolo)

nv into

mb
;

imbalopolo)
(injato).

into nfs {intsivy, intsivifolo) ^Isa

is
'

nz into nj
isa, roa,

used in counting (as

to count^)
'
;

&c.

hence the verb

(as,

manlsa,
iray,
'

iray, as a

numeral adjective

irano
(as

one house

and

iraika, in

compound numbers

iralkambinifdlo) only in the

to,

Hova

dialect,

but as equivalent
the other

and instead

of,

isa

and iray,

in several of

dialects of

Madagascar.
in

N.B.

In counting
:

Malagasy the units come

first,
'

then
'

the tens, &c.

(literally,

roanibinifolo {roa

amhy ny

fblo),

twelve

two an addition

to the ten).

Indrdy alone means again; but when used as meaning

once, the verb

mandeha
as,
*

(to

go) or the verb

maha

(to fetch)

must be added;
indray mlika
one go \

tsy azo
it

hanina indray mandiiha

(at)

(or
'

izy),

cannot be eaten

once', or

a^

The Ordinals

are often used as Fractionals (iis,fahenim-

hary, the sixth part of the rice-measure called vary iray).

And
is

they are used of measurements

?

trdnonao

Fahadlmy.
?

a.s,fiihaflrymda ny

"

How many

(fathoms in length)

your house

Five

".

Distributives are
prefixing
tsi;

made by doubling the

'

Cardinals and
tsiroaroa,
'

as, tsira{n)y,

one by one

';

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.
it

They

also
;

have imperative
it

moods

teloy,

divide

into three

efaro, divide

into four, &c.

thing-) twice.

lldnindroa {manao indrba), to do (a

Maninielo, to do
Indraosina,
thrice^.
'

(a thing-) thrice.
' ;

being done twice

intelbina,

'

being-

done

These are sometimes used as the passive parti-

ciples of the corresponding- verbs, 77ianindrba, manintelo, &c.

Number
into

of days

is

expressed by turning- the cardinals

abstract
^

nouns in ha

ana

as^

hafiriana

'

how

many days
hatelbana,

indrb-midro, [indrba
' ;

andro),
four days

Hwo
',

days'*;

'

three days

hefcvrana,

'

&c.
is

N.B.

The

only

known

exception to this rule

'

in the
'.

use of indrb-cmdro, instead of harbana, for

two days

Another

thing- to be

remembered
noun

is

that, while

an adjec'

tive g-enerally follows its

(as,

trano tsara,
is

a good

house"), the numeral

[i.e.
'

the cardinal)
'.

often placed before

a noun

as,

rba lahy,

two men

THE ARTICLE,
The Definite
ny, which
is

Article.

There

is

only one definite

article,

used before

common

nouns, and has the same

Its special uses

defining power as our English article the.

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
2.

A CONCISE ilALAGASY GRAMMAR.

It
is

used generieally, with reference to the whole of

a class;

as,

ny vbrona,

birds

'

(or,

the birds).

This

is
;

the
as,

only sense in which ny can be used with proper names

ny Malagasy, 'Malagasy'
3. ing'
'

[as

a nation).

It

is

used in general comparisons after words imply(as toy,

likeness
'.

talialm, c^c.)

as,

toy

ny vbrona,
by a

like birds
4.

It

is

used before a noun

;

when made
'

definite

suf-

fixed
5.
'

pronoun
It
is

as,

ny satroko,

the hat of

me
as,

',

i.e.

my

hat.

used with abstract nouns;

mj marina,

truth ^
6.

With

the words anankiray (certain), sasany (some),

relihtra (all),

and maro (many), the Malagasy often use the

it
;

article

where the English dispense with

as,
'.

ny lehilahy anankiray, 'a certain man ny olona sasany, some people

' '.

ny olona

rehetra, 'all people' (or, all the people).

'

ny olona maro,
h
1.
'

many

people

'.

(when omitted)

Before nouns in apposition

',

as,

Herodra mpanjaka,

Herod the king

2.

{or,

King Herod).
;

Before nouns in the vocative case

'

as,

Rainay

izay

any an-danitra,
3.

Our

father
as,

who

(art) in
lo,

heaven'
is

Before predicates;
Before accusatives

satroko

'that

my

hat'.

4.

when they

are adverbial, instru-

mental, or limiting.
5.

After no in some idiomatic phrases, where no seems

wi/ or

equivalent to

i:ay;

as,

hoy no navaliny azy, or hoy ny

navallny

azi/.


THE ARTICLE.

47

The

Indefinite Ay'ticle.

The
:

Malagasy language has no

it is

indefinite article,

but the place of

supplied in one or

other of these four ways

1.

By omitting ny
oxen)
;

as,

nahlta omhy

alio,

'

saw an

ox',

[or,

(2)

Ly the use of ananhiray and sasany

;

in the
rela-

half-definite sense of some, certain

tive

(3)

by using the

pronoun

iziiy,

in

an

indefinite sense, as, Iza no hatbJcy

{or,

izay adala?
(4)
*

'who would trust a fool'

;

one

by using the verb misy

[or,
'

as,

mlsy blona

who is a fool) ? namangy azy,

a person

some persons)
let

visited

him

';

misla miinl-aty ny

anTilzi-laliy,

a servant {or one, or some, of the servants)

come

here'.

There are also in Malagasy the following

sonal prefixes,
i,

common
to

per-

ri, ra,

ray.

Hay

{Hey, ilehy), and andriana.

Of

these, i

and ra, though generally prefixed

proper

nouns, are sometimes prefixed to

common nouns

used as

names of persons;
{or, that)

SbSjivadinao, 'your wife'; ralehilahy,' the

man

'.

The Emjohatic or Discriminative Particle

'

'

no.'

JV^o ' is

a particle

which

is

both emphatic and exclu-

sive,

copula
to

and not a substitute or equivalent for the English " It serves is'. As the Rev. W. E. Cousins says
' :

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.
is

'

(sun-dried meat) that

g-ood
i.e.

when hung
no

but words are

'^

not good (when) hung';

they are better spoken

The reasons
nally an article
(1)

for believing that

(if

may have

been origi:

not identical with ny) are as follows

No

is

nearly identical in form with vy.

;

(2) It
(not,
(3)

makes the use of ny unnecessary

tsara)
?
'

as, iza

no tsara

ha no ny

which

is

the good one '?

it

In some idiomatic phrases

seems to have the force

of ny, or of the relative pronoun izay.

Syncpsis of the various uses of ' no/

A.

To emphasize
(1)

or discriminate.

subject
;

in assertive sentences
is

as, izy
'.

no

ha/iiao izany,

'

it

he

who

shall

do that
;

in interrogative sentences
'

as,

aiza no alchanao,
'?

where

is it

that you are going

N.B.
))e

When the answer

^

to a question
;

would

as, ha no 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

a subject, no should be used

izy?

'

be very different,

'

He

is

my

brother', &c.

in imperative sentences; as,

'

ny tsara no hano,

the good are those which should be eaten

eat the good).
;

{i.e.

in hortative sentences
'

as,

aza ny ratsy no lianina,

let

not the bad ones be those which are eaten'.

USE OF '^NO/''

49
'it

(2)

An

adjunct;

as,

omaly no nanaovany izany,

{or,

was yesterday that they did

(3)

made)

that'.
;

statement for which a reason

tsy

is

to be given

as,

ny handrina no
'it is

manlry
which
' ;

vole,

ny henatra,
the

the

forehead

is

not covered with

hair,

shame (causes that)

i.e.,

shame

is

reason

why

the forehead
is

is

not covered with hair.

;

In such

cases, lib

often added

as,

ny akoho

no ho

Vehihe,

ny

vblony, 'their feathers

make

the

fowls appear large ^

B.

Non-emphatic uses
(1)

of 'N6^

As

a declarative conjunction, 'in that', 'because';

as,

nanao soa htanao no niantra

azy,

'

you did a

g"ood deed in that {or, because)

(2)

you pitied him'.

As
As As

a sign of the past tense of passive verbs in -ana

and. -ina.
(3)

This is found in a shortened, form of nbny. " Hare-mahasoa", p. 146. Nbny tsy,'h\xt for'.
a shortened form o^nbho in a comparison (rarely

(4)

so used).

KB. Of

'no', the Rev.

W.

E. Cousins says
'

:" The

correct or incorrect use of the particle

criterion of the skill a

7ib

'

is

no unfair

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'.
is

A
its

more common and very

useful idiom,
still

the re-

versal of this phrase, the adjective

adjectival force, wliile the verb
relative
is

keeping

exchanged

for

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.
13,

51

The Adverbs of
following
eny, yes.
tsla, no.
tsy, not.
:

neg-ative^ affirmation, or doulDfc, are the

angaha, angamha, perhaps.

tokonij ho, probably.

sendra, perchance,
tahiny, perchance,

aza, let not (the sig-n

of prohibition).

Of

the

two

last words,

tahiny

is vised

of suppositions,

sendra not of suppositions.

azy
Izy,
'

Thus, sendra nahlta

';

he happened to meet them

izy,
'

raha tahiny

mahUa
C.

azy

if

he should happen to meet them*.

are the following
:

The interrogative adverbs

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,
ahoana,

&c.

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
its

?]

atao can take as

(as hataoJco

agent either a suffix pronoun

ahoana,

how can

I do

it ?)

or a

noun
tra,

(as,

hataon' ny blona ahoana no fandbsishall the people escape'? [literally,

'how

what

shall the people

do as regards a way of
is

escape?)

This last idiom

common

use

of the modal noun.

D. Adverbs of place are very numerous.

list

The following

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

etc,

eiy,

here

eo,

etsy,

eny,

eroa,

ery,

there
there.

aty, ato,

here

ao, atsy, any,

aroa, ary,

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

and unseen, while those with
]iointed out
'
;

to the

vague
clearly

e to

what

is

seen,
;

and

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

an-cfitra any,
'

(as,

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 and
(2) interrogation
:

have tenses are those of

(1) time,

and of

these,

is

the sign of the past tense, and ho of the

future; thus, aty,

am

here; taty, was here; ho aty, will

is ?

be here

atza,

where

taiza,

where was ? ho alza, where

will be ?

Adverbial verbs are made from adverbs by putting the

active prefix

manhto

before
there.

them

as,

mankaty, to come

here

manhamj,

go

Of

these verbs, only manlcany voice

has an imperative

{ankanesana) ,

mood {mankanesa) or a relative These are made to serve with all the
as,

other
here';

adverbs of place;

mankanesa aty hianao, 'come

?
'

nahbana no
there'?

tsy

nankanesanao tany

why

did

you not go
'

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

repeated with ho inserted;

indefinite in
as,

meaning by being
(or,

atohoato

ato ho ato),

hereabouts

teohoeo, thereabouts.

They

are also often used

to express relations of time (as, tea, recently, lately), especially

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

Omaly, yesterday.
Ampitso,
Maliampitso,
-r,, ,
V
.

{jjast).

)
>

to-morrow.
(jjast).

Androtriny androtrizay, at that day


54
A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR,
Eehefa, rehe/efa, presently.

Raha afaka
{i.e.

atsy
days).

ho

atsy

hoTiba,

after a

time,

some

Bahatrizay, hereafter
Falimy, formerly.

(indefinite future).

Fahizany, fahizay, at that time^

(faha-

is

so used

with

many words

to express past time).

of.

Hatrizay, since the time

Eatrizaihatrizay, from of oldj from eternity (indefinite past).

AnJcehitrlny , ankehitrio, , , > now, at the present time. , ^ , Izao, amin izao, j
.

Vao faingana

(or

hamgana), quite
-j

recently.

MandrHra

mi andro,

TontoLo andro,

,,

.-,.-,

I all

day long.
until
;

Mandrahariva
ing-),

[mandraka,

hariva,

even-

continually

Matetika, often.

Indraindray

[i.e.

indray, once re2yeated], sometimes.

)
'^

Jsaji-an^ro, daily, every day, ' "

*^"^
used

^^
.f.^ with

Isam-bblana, monthly, every month.

jj^^ny words.

Tuy

intsoui/,

no longer,
\
.

not any more.

iza^) at that

Amin'

izaii (present),
,
.

Tam/n

tz'iy

>
)

thereupon, upon that.

{past),

Iliarakamin/zay [miaraka amin'

mo-

ment, immediately {present),

niaraka tamin'
{2)a.st).

izay, at that

moment, immediately,

Sahady, already,

so early.

HixhatcOy already, beforehand.


ADJECTIVES.
F,

55
are the

The
:

chief adverbs

of

manner and degree

following"

Fatratra, earnestly.

Tsimdramora,

easily.

Tsihelikelij , little

by

little.

Tsipbt'ipdtika, piecemeal, in small quantities, bit

bit.

by

Loatra, too, exceedingly.

Koa,

too, also.

Kbsa, on the contrary, on the other hand.

Aza,
even.

Avy,

S
(as,

Avy, apiece, each, individually

nomena

sikajy
')

avy
^

izy,

'

they were given sixpence each

,
.

baiky, or saika,

C almost, all but (used of some|

<

thing

nearly,
,.

but

not quite,

yaiku, or vama,

V eiiected).

respectively, individually, wholly.

Samy
marina

precedes, and avokoa follows, the quali-

Samy,
fied

word

as,

samy marina
'

(or,

Avokoa,
avokoa) Izy rehetra,
vidually) true'.

they are

all (indi-

Hakltro, to the heels.

hdtra,
'

The

prefix ha- (short for

up to

')

is

so used with the

name

of

almost any part of the body.

PREPOSITIONS.
There
are

only a

few prepositions

in the

Malagasy
these are

language, their place being supplied by a large numljer of

prepositional phrases or

compound

prepositions
i- to

formed by prefixing

a-,

am-, an-, or

nouns.

56

TABLE OF THE CHIEF PREPOSITIONS, WITH THEIR MEANINGS AND GOVERNMENT.

MEANING.
to,

PEEPOSITION.

GOTEENMENT.

Amy

The meaning of amy is so variable, from, and it has to serve for so many of in, by, with, our English prepositions, that it
for,

at or on time), &c.

(of practically has no special meaning of its own, but merely points out the indirect object or the adjunct to a
verb.

2n7j

belonging- to.

Akaiky

near

to.

Most of the prepositions, whether simple or compound, are followed by the sufBx pronouns as, amiko, an;

ilako.

Afa-tsy {hfaka, tsy)

.

except.

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:
,

Amharalca

until.

Mandraka
Araka
.

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

as

nainako, since
.

my

birth.

according
after.
is

to,

(This

the root of the verb ynanaraha, to

'

Ambdraka and mandraka are generally contracted and joined with habitual modal nouns, or with adjectives or phrases preceded by
fdha;

as,

ambdra-

follow.

pireriko
;

(root

(or mdndra-) verina), until

my

Hatra

from, to (towards, up to, vanau

as far as).

return mdndra-pdhafatiiry, until his death. They are rarely followed by a relative as, mdndra-panao;

dzy, until

your doing

it.

Aka]ky takes

either a suffixed pro-

Ho, ho any

for, to.

noun or the separate form in the accusative case as, akaiky ando
;

(or akaikindo),

near you.

Noho

on account
because.

of,

Noho and

dfa-tsy govern only a

nominative case.

Ho
Tandrify
.

takes after
azy, for

it

the pronoun azy

or,

opposite to.

as,

hi)

him,

to

be
as,

his.

Otherwise it requires any; any ny tcnany, for himself,

hd

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
phrases
or

The

following-

are

the

chief prepositional

compound
i-

prepositions
:

made by

prefixing a-, am-, an-, or

to nouns

Afovbana {fb andt'oa?

heart
of,

or,

/o reduplicated

?),

in the

in the midst

of.

Aloha

(/o/ia),

ahead, before.

Aorlana, behind.

Amdrona [mbrona), on
{or,

the edge

of,

on the brink

margin)
of.

of.

Atslmo, south

Atsinanana {tslnana
Avaratra {varatra
{am-)

?),

east of
of.

?),

north

Amhany
Ambody

{van^?), beneath, below, under.

?),

Arnbony (vdny

above, upon,

{vody), at the
of.

rump

(or, tail)

of,

at the

bottom

Ambadika

[vadika) , on the other side of

(i.e.

as of a

thing turned upside down).

Amjpovoany (/o and vda?

the middle
of.

or,

fb reduplicated

?),

in

Ampita

(^ita),

on the other side

of,

across (a river).

Anatreliana [atrika), in the presence of

Anaty
.

{aty), inside of, within,

among.

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

between, between.

i'la),

in the intervals

Ariila {\la), at the side of, beside.

Aniula Quia), on the

side of.

AnJcoatra [hbatra), beyond, further than.

Ankavia
hand

[hatua), at the left

hand

of.

AnTiavanana {havhnana, from havana),

of.

at the right

Antenatena

{tena), in the

body

{or,

substance)
(o?-,

of.

Antampona (tampona), on
(i-)

the top

summit)

of.

Ifbtotra {fbtotra), at the root

of.

Imaso {maso),

in the eyes
of.

(o?*,

sig-ht) of.

Ivela, (vela) outside

Ivblio {vbho), at the

back

of,

behind.

The want
ways
:

of prepositions

is

also supplied in the following'

1.

By

certain verbs,

some implying motion

&c.), others

to or

from

(as

avy, tniala,
(as

not implying any

motion
2.

manodldina).

By
in

certain active verbs,

which contain a prepoa direct accusative,

sitional force

and govern

where
as,

English they would need a preposition;

hzy,
'

mandaimja
'

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.
positional force
as,

59
aJio,
'

nitondrhny rano

was

the person (in respect) to

4.

whom

he brought water^.
accusatives,

Many

Malag-asy verbs
in English

govern two

which
smear
5.

would require a preposition

;

before one of
it

them
oil'.

as,

manbsotra

sblilia azy,

'

to

with

''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
follows
1.
:

chief

conjunctions^

divided

into

classes,

are

as

Copulative:
liba, also
;

ary, sy,

amana, amin', and; shdy,

sady no, both and; dha, even; mhamy

[mba, amy), together with, including; ambany,

and, including.
2.

Disjunctive
or;

nh, or; 7ia

nh, whether
is

or, either

sa, fa, or ?

Ary

used at the beginning of

sentences, or for the sake of variety in enumerations

with

sy.
;

Amana
as,

couples nouns which usually go

';

in pairs

ray aman-dremj,' father and mother

stars'*;

vblana aman-hintana, 'moon and

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
or not'?
3.

%zy,

six,

(or,

fa) tsia ?

'

will they go,

Adversative
nefa,

fa, but
kanjo,

ncfa, Jcandrefa, anefa, ha-

yet
(or,

however, but, nevertheless

;

.mingy

sangy), but (only sometimes)

;

kanjo
saingy

implies the reverse of one's expectation

sometimes means hnt

izy,

as,
'

saiky nahavifa izany

saingy tsy mbola vita,

he was merely able to

'.

finish that,

but

it is

not yet done

4).

Conditional
if;

raha, nbny (with present or future),

nxjny tsy,

had

it

not been

for,

but

for, (/i7e-

ralhj,

Mf

not', like the Latin nisi.^

for,

5.

Causal

fa,

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

our English conjunction that.

licking , 4'c.,

to introduce the noun-sentence or statement, like

No

is

used to express the reason, in the following

:

way

gaga

alio

no tsy tonga izy,

'

am

surprised

that he has not come'.

7.

Inferential

d\a,
is

ary,

then,

therefore.

In this

sense ary
sentence.
fore

never placed at the beginning of a

Thus, andiiha ary isika. Met us there-

go

';

but ary andeha isika,

'

and we go

'.


CONJUNCTIONS.

61
koa, and so, so as;

8.

Final (result or consequence),

dia, then
;

lea,
;

sao, andrao, lest

;

A:a

sometimes

'

yet',

'and yet' (adversative)

as,

malaza ho lahy,

ka, tsy

mandry

an-efitra,
(i.e.

'

famed

as a (brave)

man, yet

not lying9.

afraid to lie) in the desert

Temporal

rliha, reliefa, fony,

nony, when

dleny,
j:>ro-

whilst, while; dla,, then (of time, signifying-

gression of events).

Reliefa
;

(ralia

efa)

means

when
'

in the sense of after

as,

rehefa vita izany,

refers to the past;
'

when that was

fony
tsy

finished \

Fony

as,

mhola ary ny tany,

when

the earth

was not yet created'.

of
are
events.
;

Nony

implies a succession

Bleny

implies

something-

passing

away

as, dien^/

mhola tanora hlanao, 'while you

still

young'.

There are three peculiarities noticeable with regard to

Malagasy conjunctions
1.

viz.
as,

They
2.

are often in couples

ary dla

fa

satrla.

The same word

as,

often has to serve for several

for,

conjunctions;

fa,

but,
3.

that; dla, even,

therefore, then (of time).

710^

They generally do
;

couple the same cases of pronouns

Izy,
'

as,

miteny

aminao sy Izahay
{lit.

he speaks to you and us

we)'.

62

A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.

INTERJECTIONS.
Table of the chief Interjections.
EMOTION
EXPRESSED.
Surprise
( endraij, endre, ddre, odre, (pro.

INTEEJECTI0X3.
"^

nouiiced oh-dray) hay, hanky

ah
J

oh

Denial
Desire

f hy
\

(pron. bhy), ehy, aoe, Sana- ~\ tria (forbid that) . . )

anle, enga ka, eiidra,

.

anga

(
.

may-! oh that--! would that-!

eh
!

Exclamation
or calling

e,
.

(pronounced oh!),

Sorrow
Regret

indiisy
inay, injay

.....
.

ry, ray, rey

ho

ha

alas
(

oh that-! would
that-!

Note.

With regard

to
it

the

interjection

sanatria

forbid that
oriw'in
'

'

!),

perhaps

had the following- mode of

:-

Sanatry

is
;

the
it is

name

of a plant used medicinally

by

the Malagasy

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

incantation- worker \

diviner
is

'

or

"When

so prepared, the pot

is
is

carried

to the place where the disease to be removed

*

said

by the

diviner

'

to

have had

its

origin

the pot

believed to
left there,

attract the disease to

itself,
it

and

is

consequently
'

the person
(i.e.,

who

leaves

exclaiming
!

Sanatria,'

May

it

the disease) be sanatry

this

In
is

custom of the Malagasy (whatever

its origin)
is

there

the same idea of vicario2is siiffering which

readers
of

so familiar

to

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.

it

But
or (c)

may
;

follow
(h)

the

subject,

(a)

indicated

only by the
it
;

sense

indicated

more
it,

closely
it

by

dJia

before

indicated
subject.
2.

by no before

when

applies exclusively to the

As regards
its

the object of an active verb,

;

it

immediately
'I reproved

follows

verb

as,

nananatra azy mafy

(as is

alio,

him sharply\

Unless

the case sometimes) an adverb

;

closely connected with the verb intervene

as,

aza

mamcdy

sarotra azy hlanao, 'do not answer

3.

him roughly
(if

With a

passive verb, the adverb and the object

all

there be one), together with

long,

connected words unless too

come near the

verb, the subject following last, at the

;

end of the sentence

as, natblotro
or,

hzy omaly ny vbla,

the

'

gave them the money yesterday^,

to

money was given

teo

them by me yesterday

nanariko mafy

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
and
(c)

desired, the subject can be put into a

place, in accordance

more prominent
(a), (6), 4.

with exceptions

to

Rule

1.

above.
its

qualifying adjective follows

noun;

as,

lekilahy

tsara, 'a good man'.

64
5.
it

A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.

possessive case follows its

noun (whethern?/ precedes

or not).

See Rules for Indications of Case.

is

The excep-

tion to Rules (4) and (5)

when

a word closely connected

as, nij

with the qualified noun intervenes;

Tiari-dRalambo,
'

tanana anlcava';

the right hand of E,alambo

'

ny vahbaagent,

dRanavalona
6.

rehetra,

all

the subjects of Eanavalona'.

its

In the case of a passive or a relative verb and

its

the agent alwaijs comes next to

jlolahy tzy,
'

verb

as,

novondin' ny

he was killed by the highwaymen,'

Even
struction

in the case of

from Indra and

is

/o),

compound verbs (as, marriindra-fb when the passive or the relative conall

used, the agent, and

words closely connected

with

it,

must come next

to the verb, the

its

noun

(in this case,

fo) being separated from

verb
'

as,

(Active)

namindra-

fb taminao ny tbmpon-trbsa,
to

the creditor showed mercy

you'.

(Relative)

namindran'

ny

tbmpon-trbsa
creditor'.

fb

hlanao, 'you were

shown mercy by the

Short Specimen of Analysis.

Ka

bhabblana hely nb hataoJco

lib

cntiko

handa ny
a
in

hanaovanao ahy andriamhaventy

Translation.
little

And

so I will

make

a little parable

{lit.

parable shall be
[lit.

refusing

to refuse)

made by me), to be used by me your making me a judge.

Grammatical Notes.

Ka,

final conjunction,

'and

so'.

Oliabblana,

compound noun, from

meaning

ohatra,

'measure',

'figure', and volana, 'word',

a figure of speech.

INTERJECTIONS.
parable, proverb.
being- rejected

65

It

is

a contraction for bhatra-vdlana, -na

b
;

and v chang-ed into

here

it is

the nominais

tive case to hatao.

The

root vblana (a

word)

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
is

synonymous with miteny.

Oha-teny

used as a

synonym of

bliahblana.

Kely, adjective, qualifying- 6/ia&o?a7ia.

its

It

means
its

^lY^Ze;

past tense

is

the same as the present, but

future

is lib hely.

Nb, discriminative
parable ".

particle.

Its force here

denial,

is,

"I

will

answer you, not by a simple

but by making- a

HataoliO, passive verb in a- (future tense), from root tao,

which is seen in the noun tao-zavatra, 'manufactures

the suffixed pronoun,
first

';

-Tio is

person singular, denoting the

agent of the passive verb hatao.

Hb
noun

entiko, passive verb in -ina, root

unknown

a verbal
JEJntina

in

-ana {entana, luggage, a load)

also exists.
;

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.

literally 'borne, carried';

Entina

but often translated by 'used', as

in enti-manao,

'

used in making'.

Handa,
into

active verb in

man-, from root

la,

being changed
;

for the sake of

is

euphony

(future tense)

it

means

to

deny, refuse, and

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 E

hanaovanao ahy andriamhaventy into a noun.

66

A CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.

Hanaovanao,
relative verb

from active verb manao, root

all its

tao

liei'e

used of the act, taken in connection with

circumstances; -nao, suffixed pronoun, second person singular,

showing the agent of the

relative verb

hanaovana.
first

Ahy, separate form of personal pronoun,

singular, objective case.

person

Andrlambaventy, compound noun, composed of the noun

andriana,
large
'.

'a.

noble',
'

and the adjective vaventy, ' substantial,

':

It

means

a judge

its

root

is

renty,

'

substance',

the prefix va- being either a substitute for the usual adjectival prefix

ma- {maventy

is

used

among some

of the tribes

other than the Hova), or a monosyllabic prefix.

Both

ciJiy

and andriambavhnty
relative verb

are accusative cases governed

by the

hanaovana.

The

relative follows the govern-

ment of the

active construction,

which would be manao

ahy andrlamhavenfy.

APPENDIX TO THE "CONCISE MALAGASY GRAMMAR.'

ENGLISH.

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