Malagasy

Malagasy is the westernmost of the Malayo-Polynesian languages. It is spoken on the island of Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa.

It is believed that it may have originated in the western portion of the Indonesian archipelago, probably on the island of Borneo. The closest language outside of Madagascar is Ma'anyan in south Borneo. The indigenous people of Madagascar, who make up some 36 tribes and are of mixed Indonesian and African stock, are also known as Malagasy.

Little is known about the earliest history of Madagascar. Africans and Indonesians reached the island in about the 5th century AD, and Indonesian immigration continuing until the 15th century. By the beginning of the 17th century there were a number of small Malagasy kingdoms. At the end of the 18th century, the Merina people conquered the other kingdoms. The Protestant London Missionary Society was welcomed. It developed a writing system for the Merina language, now known as Malagasy.

Malagasy is one of the official languages of Madagascar which became the Malagasy Republic in 1960. The other official language is French. The language is spoken by most of the island's 13 million inhabitants. It is also spoken in Comoros and Reunion islands east of Madagascar. During the French colonisation of Madagascar, French became the dominant language of the island, while Malagasy was relegated to an inferior position. Today, French remains important, largely because of its international status and the fact that most of the leadership has been educated in French. Both Malagasy and French are used in official government publications, in the media, and in education.

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