Alternate Names: Malagasy, Malgache, Official Malagasy, Standard Malagasy
Dialects: Betsileo, Bezanozano, Merina, Sihanaka, Tanala, Vakinankaritra, Zafimaniry. Reportedly the most similar language outside Madagascar is Ma’anyan , in south Borneo (Kalimantan, Indonesia). A member of macrolanguage Malagasy ,.
Status Notes: Statutory national language (2010, Provisional Constitution, Article 6), use limited in higher education.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 7,520,000 in Madagascar (2006). Population total all countries: 7,529,640.
Language Development: Fully developed. Bible: 1835–2011.
Typology: VOS.
Writing System: Braille, Latin
Nation of Origin: Madagascar
Other Comments: The standard is most similar to the Merina dialect, with loans incorporated from Bantu languages, Swahili ,, Arabic, English, French. Traditional religion, Christian, Muslim.