Documentation of the Malagasy language traces the early records of the Malagasy language compiled by European explorers, traders, and missionaries from the 17th to the 19th century. The principal early sources form a chronological corpus ranging from the first Malagasy–Dutch word list compiled by Frederick de Houtman (1603) and the first Malagasy–French numerals recorded by François Martin de Vitré (also 1603) to the first English–Malagasy dictionary, published in 1835. These works record Malagasy as it was spoken in various coastal regions, encompassing vocabularies, numerals, dialogues, and—in later instances—dictionaries and prayers. The London Missionary Society (LMS) missionaries produced the final major contributions to this early documentary tradition; their 1835 English–Malagasy dictionary, based predominantly on the Merina dialect, marks the transition to modern standardized Malagasy.
In 1603, Frederick de Houtman published in Amsterdam the Spraeck ende Woord-boeck inde Maleysche ende Madagaskarsche Talen, which contains a Dutch–Malagasy vocabulary and dialogues.[1] De Houtman had learned Malagasy (Old Northern Betsimisaraka dialect) during his stay at Sainte-Marie and in Antongil Bay.[2][3] The Malagasy vocabulary probably came from a Malagasy interpreter from these regions, who had spent four years with the Dutch and knew Dutch well.[4] At the same time, in 1603, François Martin de Vitré noted a list of numbers in Southwestern Malagasy (Old Vezo or Old Masikoro) during his passage at Saint-Augustin Bay.[5] Thus, Malay and Malagasy appear side by side in their works suggesting similarities.
Numbers in Old Malagasy (Southern and Northern, 1603)
Richard Boothby, in his 1646 work A Brief Discovery or Description of the Most Famous Island of Madagascar, or St. Laurence, recorded several words from the inhabitants of Saint Augustine's Bay (in present-day Toliara). The language spoken in that region is now classified as part of the Vezo dialect, which belongs to the Southern Malagasic dialect cluster—likely representing an early form of Proto-Vezo.[6]
Comparative Vocabulary of St Augustine Bay Language (Boothby, 1646) and Standard Malagasy
#
Gloss
St Augustine Bay (Boothby, 17th c.)
Standard Malagasy
1
good
Chara
tsara
2
rope
Talle
tady
3
cloth
Lomba
lamba
4
lance
Leffo
lefona
5
tomorrow
Humeray
ampitso
6
salt
Syra
sira
7
palm of hand
Fala tanga
felatanana
8
tongue
Leela
lela
9
ear
Saffe
sofina
10
eye
Maca
maso
11
hair
Voyla
volo
12
shoulder
Sowkee
soroka
13
back (body)
Lemboshe
lamosina
14
butt
Voylee
vody
15
breast
Noeno
nono
16
hand
Tanga
tanana
17
teeth
Niffa
nify
18
chin
Soca
saoka
19
cow
Angomba
omby
François Cauche's southern Malagasy vocabulary (1651)
François Cauche travelled mostly in southern Madagascar in the regions inhabited by the Antanosy, Mahafaly, and Antandroy (Ampatres), but also briefly along the eastern coast among the Antaimoro (Matatane) and around Antongil Bay (Northern Betsimisaraka). He collected mostly vocabulary from the south, where he carried out the majority of his commercial exchanges. He is the first to record conversations in Malagasy, probably from southern and eastern Malagasy varieties, necessary for communication and trade.[7] His observations and vocabulary were later published in Relations véritables et curieuses de l'isle de Madagascar par François Cauche, et du Brésil in 1651.
A small Malagasy–French vocabulary compiled by Étienne de Flacourt, former Governor of the French settlement at Fort-Dauphin (Tolagnaro), was published in Paris in 1658. It is the first printed work to include prayers in Malagasy. Flacourt likely contributed to the dictionary and a catechism prepared by the Lazarist Fathers, whom he later presented to the future Saint Vincent de Paul.[8]
Comparative vocabulary and numerals (Flacourt, 1658)
Robert Drury, an English sailor who spent 15 years in southern Madagascar (including Androy, Fierenana, now known as Tulear, and Menabe), collected a vocabulary of southern Malagasy words as spoken in the early 1700s, which he published in his memoirs, Madagascar, or Robert Drury's Journal, in 1729 with the assistance of Daniel Defoe.[10]
Numbers in Southern Malagasy (Drury, early 18th century)
During his visit to Madagascar, Guillaume Le Gentil recorded several Malagasy words, chiefly in use in the northeastern regions — particularly Antongil Bay, Sainte-Marie and Foulpointe — as well as in Fort-Dauphin. He did not provide details regarding the dialect spoken in Fort-Dauphin, mentioning only differences in greetings. His work focused primarily on the northern dialect in his book Voyage dans les mers de l'Inde, published in 1781. Le Gentil resided in Madagascar on three occasions, in 1761, 1762, and 1763.[12][13]
Words in Old Malagasy Collected by Le Gentil (Southern and Northern, 1760s)
#
Gloss
Le Gentil (Anosy, 1760s)
Le Gentil (Saint-Marie, Foulpointe & Antongil Bay, 1760s)
Claude Bernard Challan compiled a vocabulary in the 18th century with the help of two Malagasy slaves, primarily collecting words from central and eastern Madagascar, especially Betsimisaraka and Merina. According to Linah Ravonjiarisoa, this edition is richer and more modern, and it includes, for the first time in translation, a sample of Merina words.
In 1773, the Royal Printing House of Mauritius published his work as Challan, Claude Bernard (Abbot), Vocabulaire malgache distribué en deux parties: La première: françois et malgache – la seconde: malgache et françois, which constitutes the very first Malagasy–French and French–Malagasy dictionary.[14]
Numbers and vocabulary in Challan's dictionary (1773)
In 1816, Barthélemy Huet de Froberville compiled several major manuscripts documenting the Malagasy language in Île de France (present-day Mauritius). Although never printed, these works—particularly his French–Malagasy dictionary—were later instrumental in the development of Malagasy linguistic studies. In 1833, J. Dumont d’Urville published an extract from Froberville's Great Dictionary without acknowledging him as the author. Froberville's work inspired missionary efforts to update a new dictionary in the dialect spoken mostly in Imerina, which was later published in 1835 as the first English–Malagasy dictionary and is closer to modern-day standard Malagasy.[15][16][17][18]
Comparative Vocabulary of Early 19th Century Isle de France (Froberville) Malagasy and Standard Malagasy
In 1835, the first English–Malagasy dictionary was published, based largely on the Merina dialect of Imerina. This work, compiled by missionaries influenced by Froberville's earlier manuscripts, represents a significant step toward the standardization of Malagasy. It is much closer to modern standard Malagasy than earlier records, reflecting the emergence of the Merina dialect as the prestige variety that would later form the basis of official Malagasy.
Comparative Vocabulary of Malagasy in the 1835 English–Malagasy Dictionary by J. J. Freeman and Modern Malagasy
↑Vine, Angus (2025). Early Modern Merchants and Their Books. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. p.432. ISBN9780198881636.
↑Chaudenson, Robert (2001). Creolization of Language and Culture. London / New York: Routledge. p.187.
↑Galibert, Nivoelisoa, ed. (2007). À l'angle de la Grande Maison. Les lazaristes de Madagascar: correspondance avec Vincent de Paul (1648-1661). Imago Mundi, série Textes, no 2. Presses Universitaires de Paris-Sorbonne. p.117.
↑Ferrand, Gabriel (1908). "Un vocabulaire malgache-hollandais". Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Ned.-Indië: 677.
↑Martin de Vitré, François (1604). Description du premier voyage faict aux Indes Orientales par les François en l'an 1603 (in French). Laurens Sonnius, Paris. p.69.
↑Boothby, Richard (1646). A Briefe Discovery or Description of the Most Famous Island of Madagascar or St. Laurence in Asia neare unto East‑India. Printed by E. Griffin for Iohn Hardesty, London. pp.19–20.
↑Cauche, François (compiled by Claude‑Barthélemy Morisot) (1651). Relations véritables et curieuses de l'isle de Madagascar et du Brésil: avec l'histoire de la dernière guerre faite au Brésil entre les Portugais et les Hollandais, trois relations d'Égypte et une du royaume de Perse (in French). A. Courbé, Paris. pp.175–193.
12Ferrand, Gabriel (1905). Dictionnaire de la langue de Madagascar d'après l'édition de 1658 et l'Histoire de la grande isle Madagascar de 1661 (in French). Paris: Ernest Leroux. pp.15–292.
↑Stewart, Charles; Shaw, Rosalind, eds. (2011). Creolization as Cultural Creativity. New York: Berghahn Books. p.195.
↑Drury, Robert (1890). Samuel Pasfield Oliver (ed.). Madagascar; or, Robert Drury's Journal, during Fifteen Years' Captivity on that Island. With a Further Description of Madagascar. London: George Routledge & Sons. pp.Appendix, 319–335.
↑Le Gentil de La Galaisière, Guillaume-Hyacinthe-Joseph-Jean-Baptiste (1781). Voyage dans les mers de l'Inde, fait par ordre du roi, à l'occasion du passage de Vénus, sur le disque du Soleil, le 6 juin 1761, & le 3 du même mois 1769 (in French). Vol.2. Imprimé par ordre de Sa Majesté. pp.577–580.
↑Tricoire, Damien (2023). The Colonial Dream: Imperial Knowledge and the French-Malagasy Encounters in the Age of Enlightenment. Cambridge University Press. p.258.
↑Huyghues‑Belrose, Vincent (2001). Les premiers missionnaires protestants de Madagascar (1795‑1827) (in French). Paris: Éditions Karthala.
↑Campbell, Gwyn (2012). David Griffiths and the Missionary "History of Madagascar". Leiden; Boston: Brill. pp.124–130. ISBN9789004209800.
↑"Revue des bibliothèques". Revue des bibliothèques (in French). 5. Paris: Émile Bouillon: 99–101. 1891–1936.
↑Koerner, Francis (1999). Histoire de l'enseignement privé et officiel à Madagascar (1820–1995): Les implications religieuses et politiques dans la formation d’un peuple (in French). Paris: Karthala. p.23.
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