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The Malagasy language, of Austronesian origin, is generally spoken throughout the island. The official languages of Madagascar are Malagasy and French.As a member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, Madagascar is a Francophone country, and in 2024, French is spoken by around a quarter of the population in Madagascar, i.e. 8,5 million people out of 32 million (26.59%).
Previously, under the 2007 constitution, Malagasy was one of three official languages alongside French and English. Malagasy is the language of instruction in all public schools through grade five for all subjects, and remains the language of instruction through high school for the subjects of history and Malagasy language.
In the first national Constitution of 1958, Malagasy and French were named the official languages of the Malagasy Republic. Madagascar is a francophone country, and French is mostly spoken as a second language among the educated population and used for international communication. [58]
The majority of the French population in Madagascar speak French as their first language. However, some also speak various local languages, such as Malagasy, or dialects such as Plateau Malagasy and Betsimisaraka Malagasy. [2]
The Malagasy (French: Malgache or Malagasy: Gasy [1]) are a group of Austronesian-speaking ethnic groups indigenous to the island country of Madagascar, formed through generations of interaction between Austronesians originally from southern Borneo and Bantus from Southeast Africa. Traditionally, the population have been divided into sub-ethnic ...
The written history of Madagascar begins in the 7th century when Omanis established trading posts along the northwest coast and introduced Islam, the Arabic script (used to transcribe the Malagasy language in a form of writing known as the sorabe alphabet), Arab astrology and other cultural elements. [50]
Previously, under the 2007 constitution, Malagasy was one of three official languages alongside French and English. Merina is the national language of Madagascar. [ 8 ] An estimated 7.5 million people were fluent in this language in 2011, according to Ethnologue. [ 23 ]
The Colony of Madagascar and Dependencies (French: Colonie de Madagascar et dépendances) was a French colony off the coast of Southeast Africa between 1897 and 1958 in what is now Madagascar. The colony was formerly a protectorate of France known as Malagasy Protectorate .