Moments in Malagasy (Part 2)

Tratry ny Taona! The rough translation of this is "Happy New Year", but literally this phrase means “be caught by the year”, which is more akin to seizing the year and making it count (much like the Latin phrase Carpe Diem - seize the day).

So in the spirit of this new year, I thought I would share some of the new words, phrases and concepts of the Malagasy language that we have come into contact in through our studies. Much like the first post, I am happy to be corrected of any mistakes made.

Using Sounds in Words

Whilst we use onomatopoeia for some of our sounds (e.g. “woof”, “clang”, “ouch”), the Malagasy use the same principle for many of their verbs. For example, the verb “to bark” is mivovo (pronounced mivoovoo) as it simulates the noise of a barking dog. Also the verb “to whine” is minainaina, again a form of onomatopoeia. Below I’ve put a list of other Malagasy onomatopoeic verbs, see if you can guess the English sound (answers at the bottom).

Mandondona (emphasis on the “doon doon”)

Mitsibitsika

Miboiboika

Midradradradrana (“dr” is pronounced as a soft “g”)

Malagasy Place Names

Certainly in Antananarivo, but true of all Madagascar, place names tell a story of that location. For example, we live in an area of Tana known as Imerinafovoany which can mean “the centre of the Merina people”, which is one of the main people groups here in Madagascar. This area is in the commune of Talatamaty which means “Tuesday is dead”. This strange meaning has a number of possible origins. Perhaps Tuesday was designated as a particular taboo (fady) day, where restrictions were placed on the people. Or Tuesday was the market day for people in the area, but after a while this ceased to be - hence, Tuesday is dead. Our church is situated in Alakamisy (Thursday) and our daughter goes to nursery in Alarobia (Wednesday), both of which are called because of designated market days in the past. Here are a few other place names and their meanings:

Ivato - Rock

Maintirano - Black water

Moramanga - Easy blue

Fenoarivo - Full thousand

Antananarivo - A thousand cities

Marovoay - Many crocodiles

Talata-volonondry - Tuesday-wool (probably a market day)

Mahitsy - Straight (much like in Acts 9 when Ananias meets Paul on Straight Street)

Alatsinainy, Zoma, Alahady, Asabotsy - Monday, Friday, Sunday, Saturday (all place names in Madagascar)

The Relative Voice

In English we have two voices - the Active ("Johnny hit the ball") and the Passive ("The ball was hit by Johnny"), denoting emphasis either on the subject or the object. The Malagasy language also has the relative voice, which emphasises the instrument/circumstances being used to complete the action. For example:

With the bat, Johnny hit the ball

(tamin'ny hazo no namelezan'i johnny ny baolina)

It was on Monday that I saw him

(ny alatsinainy no nahitako azy)

In English we predominantly use the active voice, with a smattering of the passive. But the Malagasy have a good mix of all three voices, because ensuring that the correct part of the sentence is emphasised is very important to their culture.

The Imperative Mood

I’ve talked before about the deference that the Malagasy have towards each other in their language. But this is certainly not true with their use of the imperative when issuing commands or instructions. This is peculiar, as the Malagasy are quite an indirect culture (although this is less true for certain people groups, such as those who live in on the coast), yet they have a very straight use of the imperative. This is even true compared to us English, where we have to put on so many conditional, euphemistic words onto our requests:

If you wouldn’t mind awfully, and if you had time, would you please be so kind as to chop the vegetables...please.

For the Malagasy, this just won’t do. It is seen as perfectly acceptable to just say teteho ny legioma ("chop the vegetables"), without even so much as a please. Even by using the attenuated imperative like the English do, which would incorporate conditional words like mba or even please (azafady), is unusual to the Malagasy, or overly polite at the very least. If you want something done in Madagascar, use the direct imperative.

Biblical Malagasy

I would like to devote a whole language post to biblical words soon, but for now here is the Lord’s Prayer in Malagasy, phonetically and with the English alongside. Enjoy.

Rainay izay any an-danitra

(Rainai izai ahny ahn-dahnch) Our Father in heaven

Hohamasinina anie ny anaranao

(Hoohahmahsinina anyay nee ahnahrahnow) - Hallowed be your name

Ho tonga anie ny fanjakanao.

(Hoo toonga anyay nee fanzakanow) - Your Kingdom come

Hatao anie ny sitraponao

(Hahtau anyay nee sichapoonow) - Your will be done

etỳ an-tany tahaka ny any an-danitra.

(ehtee an tany tahaka nee ahny ahn-dahnch) - On earth as it is in heaven

Omeo anay anio izay hanina sahaza ho anay.

(Ohmayoo anai anioo izai anna sahaza hoo anai) - Give us today our daily bread

Ary mamelà ny helokay

(Aree mamelah nee elookai) - And forgive us our sins

tahaka ny namelanay izay meloka taminay.

(tahaka nee nahmaylahnai izai melook tamnai) - As we forgive those who sin against us

Ary aza mitondra anay ho amin’ny fakam-panahy

(Aree azah meetoonja anai hoo amnee fahkam-pahnah) - Lead us not into temptation

fa manafaha anay amin’ny ratsy.

(fah manafah anai amnee ratsee) - But deliver us from evil

Fa Anao ny fanjakana sy ny hery ary ny voninahitra mandrakizay.

(fah annow ny fanzakahnah see nee airee aree nee vooninaieach manjakzai) - For the kingdom, the power and the glory is yours, forever.

Amena

Answers for onomatopoeic words:

Mandondona = to knock on the door.

Mitsibitsika = to whisper.

Miboiboika = to make bubbles (pop).

Midradradradrana = to howl.