A bibliographic journey through Madagascar

abramovitchhenry 1974Abramovitch, Henry. 1974. Sainte-Marie. Taloha 6:187-188.

language(s):

French

topic(s):

Malagasy language,

Linguistics,

Diachronic linguistics,

Madagascar,

Indian Ocean region,

History,

Austronesian,

Anthropology and ethnology,

Malagasy ethnie(s):

Saint Mariens,

Eastern,

Betsimisaraka,

A very brief account, based on observations during the author's stay at Ile Sainte Marie, July-October 1973, touching on the history of the island, its name, the customs of reburial, circumcision, mitrambo and tromba.

blochmauriceef 1985Bloch, Maurice E. F. 1985. Questions historiques concernant la parenté sur la côte est. Omaly sy Anio (Hier et Aujourd'hui) 21-22:49-56.

language(s):

French

topic(s):

Malagasy language,

Linguistics,

Sociolinguistics,

Diachronic linguistics,

Madagascar,

Indian Ocean region,

History,

Austronesian,

Anthropology and ethnology,

Malagasy ethnie(s):

Southern Betsimisaraka (Antatsimo, Tatsimo),

Betsimisaraka,

Eastern,

Northern Betsimisaraka (Antavaratra, Tavaratra),

Selected quotes:

• Le peu que nous savons suffit en effet pour montrer clairement que la région dite Betsimisaraka est extrèmement diverse et que certaines populations betsimisaraka sont plus proches des populations non-betsimisaraka que d'autres égalements dénommées Betsimisaraka. Il ne peut en être autrement si nous nous rappelons que le terme Betsimisaraka se réfère non à une unité culturelle mais à une ligue politique temporaire du 18e siècle (50-1).

dalmondpierre 1987Dalmond, Pierre. 1987. Exercices en langue Sakalava et Betsimisaraka (1841-1844). Recherches et Documents 3.

language(s):

French

topic(s):

Dialectology,

Linguistics,

Malagasy language,

Sociolinguistics,

Madagascar,

Indian Ocean region,

Austronesian,

Malagasy ethnie(s):

Sakalava,

Western,

Betsimisaraka,

Eastern,

deschampshubert 1972bDeschamps, Hubert. 1972b. Les pirates à Madagascar. Paris: Editions Berger-Levrault.

language(s):

French

topic(s):

Madagascar,

Indian Ocean region,

History,

Malagasy ethnie(s):

Betsimisaraka,

Eastern,

A bit dated, but gives an inventory of documents, originals, and archives for research of the history of Madagascar.

dezjacques 1961Dez, Jacques. 1961. Le dialecte Betsimisaraka du sud. Bulletin de l'Académie Malgache n.s. 38:102-103.

language(s):

French

topic(s):

Dialectology,

Linguistics,

Malagasy language,

Sociolinguistics,

Madagascar,

Indian Ocean region,

Austronesian,

Malagasy ethnie(s):

Southern Betsimisaraka (Antatsimo, Tatsimo),

Betsimisaraka,

Eastern,

dezjacques 1971Dez, Jacques. 1971. Au pays Betsimisaraka: Habitat et communications. Bulletin de l'Académie Malgache n.s. 47(1-2):115-145.

language(s):

French

topic(s):

Malagasy language,

Linguistics,

Sociolinguistics,

Madagascar,

Indian Ocean region,

Social sciences - other,

Austronesian,

Anthropology and ethnology,

Malagasy ethnie(s):

Betsimisaraka,

Eastern,

Selected quotes:

• Les populations betsimisaraka vivent dans la forêt et de la forêt. (115)

dezjacques 1978bDez, Jacques. 1978b. Les sources Européennes anciennes de la linguistique malgache. Paris: Université de Paris 7.

language(s):

French

topic(s):

Malagasy language,

Linguistics,

Diachronic linguistics,

Austronesian linguistics,

Madagascar,

Indian Ocean region,

History,

Austronesian,

Malagasy ethnie(s):

Sakalava,

Western,

Tanosy (Antanosy),

South-eastern,

Tandroy (Antandroy, Ntandroy),

Southern,

Merina,

Central,

Saint Mariens,

Eastern,

Betsimisaraka,

Dez gives an insightful overview and appreciation of older European sources on the Malagasy language, sorted under nationality of author; He situates each author in historical context.

Selected quotes:

• A ce jour, l'intérêt offert par l'étude des sources anciennes n'est nullement épuis. Il demeure, au contraire, d'une extrême actualité. (27)

dezjacques 1993Dez, Jacques. 1993. Une contribution anglaise à la connaissance de la langue malgache: L'enquête dialectale du révérend J. Richardson (1893). Atlas linguistique et ethnographique de Madagascar. Travaux préliminaires 2. Strasbourg: Université des Sciences Humaines.

language(s):

French

topic(s):

Dialectology,

Linguistics,

Malagasy language,

Sociolinguistics,

Applied linguistics,

Madagascar,

Indian Ocean region,

History,

Austronesian,

Malagasy ethnie(s):

Sambirano,

Sakalava,

Western,

Zafisoro,

Tefasy (Antefasy, Antaifasy),

Eastern,

Hova,

Merina,

Central,

Tanala (Antanala),

Temoro (Antemoro, Antaimoro),

Tankarana (Antankarana, Tekarana, Antekarana),

Northern,

Betsileo,

Bezanozano,

Sihanaka,

Vakinankaratra,

Betsimisaraka,

Masikoro,

South-western,

Vezo,

Bara,

Southern,

esoavelomandrosomanasse 1979Esoavelomandroso, Manassé. 1979. La province maritime orientale du "royaume de Madagascar" à la fin du XIXe siècle (1882-1895). Antananarivo: Imprimerie du FTM.

language(s):

French

topic(s):

Madagascar,

Indian Ocean region,

History,

Malagasy ethnie(s):

Betsimisaraka,

Eastern,

esoavelomandrosomanasse 1985Esoavelomandroso, Manassé. 1985. Les "révoltes de l'est" (novembre 1895-février 1896): essai d'explication. Omaly sy Anio (Hier et Aujourd'hui) 21-22:33-46.

language(s):

French

topic(s):

Madagascar,

Indian Ocean region,

Social sciences - other,

History,

Malagasy ethnie(s):

Southern Betsimisaraka (Antatsimo, Tatsimo),

Betsimisaraka,

Eastern,

Northern Betsimisaraka (Antavaratra, Tavaratra),

Betanimena,

grandidierguillaume&decaryraymond 1958Grandidier, Guillaume, and Raymond Decary. 1958. Histoire politique et coloniale: Histoire des populations autres que les merina. Fascicule I: Betsileo, Betsimisaraka, AnTanôsy, Sihanaka, Tsimihety, Bezanozaro, Antanala, Antankarana, Bara, Mahafaly, Antandroy. Histoire physique, naturelle et politique de Madagascar 5. Antananarivo: Imprimerie Officielle de la Colonie.

language(s):

French

topic(s):

Madagascar,

Indian Ocean region,

Social sciences - other,

History,

Malagasy ethnie(s):

Mahafale (Mahafaly),

Southern,

Bara,

Sihanaka,

Central,

Bezanozano,

Betsileo,

Tsimihety,

Northern,

Tankarana (Antankarana, Tekarana, Antekarana),

Tanala (Antanala),

Eastern,

Betsimisaraka,

jullyantony 1901Jully, Antony. 1901. Manuel des dialectes malgaches. Comprenant sept dialectes: Hova, Betsileo, Tankarana, Betsimisaraka, Taimorona, Tanôsy, Sakalava (mahafaly) et le Soahély. Paris: Librairie Africaine et Coloniale.

language(s):

French

topic(s):

Malagasy language,

Linguistics,

Applied linguistics,

Swahili,

Indian Ocean region,

Madagascar,

History,

Austronesian,

Anthropology and ethnology,

Malagasy ethnie(s):

Hova,

Merina,

Central,

Sakalava,

Western,

Tanosy (Antanosy),

South-eastern,

Mahafale (Mahafaly),

Southern,

Betsileo,

Tankarana (Antankarana, Tekarana, Antekarana),

Northern,

Temoro (Antemoro, Antaimoro),

Eastern,

Betsimisaraka,

lahadypascal 1979Lahady, Pascal. 1979. Le culte Betsimisaraka et son système symbolique. Fianarantsoa: Editions Ambozontany.

language(s):

French

topic(s):

Madagascar,

Indian Ocean region,

Anthropology and ethnology,

Malagasy ethnie(s):

Betsimisaraka,

Eastern,

lintonralph 1928Linton, Ralph. 1928. Culture areas in Madagascar. American Anthropologist 30(3):363-390.

language(s):

English

topic(s):

Madagascar,

Indian Ocean region,

Social sciences - other,

History,

Anthropology and ethnology,

Malagasy ethnie(s):

Sakalava,

Western,

Tanosy (Antanosy),

South-eastern,

Tsimihety,

Northern,

Betsimisaraka,

Eastern,

There has been much back-and-forth about uniformity in Madagascar, and as can be seen from this article, from the earliest times. Linton points out that there are "three fairly well-marked culture areas in Madagascar, with the usual marginal tribes of mixed culture (.) which agree in a general way with the main geographic and climatic divisions of the island" (363).
He draws comparisons among three main areas of Madagascar, namely 1. the East Coast, which to the North includes the Betsimisaraka and to the South a "number of small tribes commonly, but incorrectly, grouped under the term Antaimorona" (363); 2. the "Plateaux, occupied by the Betsileo, Imerina (commonly called Hova) and Sihanaka," and 3. the "West Coast and Extreme South, occupied by the Sakalava, Mahafaly, Antandroy, and Bara."
The Tanala and Bezanozano tribes are intermediate in culture between areas 1 and 2, while the Tsimahety and Antankarana in the extreme north and the Tanôsy in the southeast seem to be intermediary between areas 1 and 3" (365).
The most interesting phenomenon of this article is the division into three areas, later taken up by linguists in connection with language. Linton makes no mention of language in this article, nor does he indicate his sources for postulating the three areas or the anthropological data he proposes. Other notable points are his sorting of a number of groups under the term "Sakalava" without specifying which, as well as the spelling of Tsimahety and the omission of the Tanôsy migration towards the Onilahy.
His argument is for cultural diversity in Madagascar, uniformity seemingly an assumption of his time, but he argues the point using terms like "tribe," "gens" and "gentes," indicative of the longstanding confusion concerning Malagasy cultures.
The main fault of this historical work is the lack of references: one does not know where the author got his information from. Researchers in Madagascar often present their specific area of research as representative of Malagasy culture as a whole. Linton was aware of this problem.

mangalazaeugeneregis 1979Mangalaza, Eugène-Régis. 1979. Essai de philosophie Betsimisaraka. Sens du famadihana. Tuléar: Université de Madagascar, Centre Universitaire Régional.

language(s):

French

topic(s):

Madagascar,

Indian Ocean region,

Anthropology and ethnology,

Malagasy ethnie(s):

Betsimisaraka,

Eastern,

mangalazaeugeneregis 1998Mangalaza, Eugène-Régis. 1998. Vie et mort chez les Betsimisaraka de Madagascar. Essai d'anthropologie philosophique. Paris: L'Harmattan.

language(s):

French

topic(s):

Madagascar,

Indian Ocean region,

Social sciences - other,

Anthropology and ethnology,

Malagasy ethnie(s):

Northern Betsimisaraka (Antavaratra, Tavaratra),

Betsimisaraka,

Eastern,

Selected quotes:

• (.) cette forme de domination merina, mal acceptée est restée présente dans la conscience populaire jusqu'à l'époque actuelle. En témoignent ces signes idéologiques comme l'interdiction de mariage avec des Merina (fady manambady hova) ou encore l'interdiction d'utiliser le dialecte merina dans des espaces consacrés comme certaines vallées, certaines embouchures ou enfin certaines grottes (31-32).

pierrea 1934Pierre, A. 1934. La prise de possession de l'île Sainte Marie. La Revue de Madagascar 8:57-80.

language(s):

French

topic(s):

Madagascar,

Indian Ocean region,

History,

Malagasy ethnie(s):

Saint Mariens,

Eastern,

Betsimisaraka,

ruudjoergen 1955Ruud, Jørgen. 1955. Etude grammaticale du dialecte Betsimisaraka du sud. Bulletin de l'Académie Malgache n.s. 33:33-55.

language(s):

French

topic(s):

Dialectology,

Linguistics,

Malagasy language,

Sociolinguistics,

Madagascar,

Indian Ocean region,

Austronesian,

Anthropology and ethnology,

Malagasy ethnie(s):

Southern Betsimisaraka (Antatsimo, Tatsimo),

Betsimisaraka,

Eastern,

syllayvette 1985Sylla, Yvette. 1985. Les Malata: Cohésion et disparité d'un groupe. Omaly sy Anio (Hier et Aujourd'hui) 21-22:19-32.

language(s):

French

topic(s):

Madagascar,

Indian Ocean region,

Anthropology and ethnology,

Malagasy ethnie(s):

Zanamalata,

Betsimisaraka,

Eastern,

verinpierre&gorlinpeter&kottakconradphillip 1969Vérin, Pierre, Peter Gorlin, and Conrad Phillip Kottak. 1969. The glottochronology of Malagasy speech communities. Oceanic Linguistics 8(1):26-83.

language(s):

English

topic(s):

Madagascar,

Indian Ocean region,

Anthropology and ethnology,

Malagasy ethnie(s):

Sakalava,

Western,

Tandroy (Antandroy, Ntandroy),

Southern,

Bara,

Merina,

Central,

Betsileo,

Tsimihety,

Northern,

Betsimisaraka,

Eastern,

This study has yielded some interesting results and has opened the way for a variety of subjects to be researched further. More word studies have been added from the list of Malagasy speech forms not treated in this present study. Anyone interested in Historical, Comparative and Sociolinguistics of Malagasy, needs to take note of this article.

Selected quotes:

• (.)in contrast to the wide range of phenotypes encountered throughout the island, the languages spoken in Madagascar are relatively homogeneous (26).
• In the present article, we shall not attempt to deny a certain obvious homogeneity of dialects spoken in Madagascar. However, we shall be concerned primarily with demonstrating a considerable linguistic diversity which has hitherto received little attention (27-8).
• The contributions anticipated by the present study are three: (1) a reassessment of existing studies of Malagasy dialectology with the aid of comparisons in basic vocabulary; (2) a clarification of the culture history of Madagascar. When viewed in combination with the findings of archaeology and ethnology, a sub-grouping of Malagasy speech communities will be of significant aid to the scholar and layman interested in the origins and sociocultural diversification of the Malagasy population; (3) a presentation of material which will assist in placing Malagasy dialects within the framework of the Indonesian subgroup (28).
• (.) this paper is an application of glottochronology to problems of linguistic and cultural unity and diversity within Madagascar (28).
• Speech communities in Madagascar are assumed here to coincide in large measure with cultural groups. However, there is no agreement about the number of distinct cultural groups in Madagascar. The official census classification of the Malagasy government recognizes the existence of twenty 'ethnies' ('cultures') (28-9).
• Basic vocabulary lists were not collected for all of the hitherto recognized 'ethnies' or cultures of Madagascar (29).
• The authors deliberately decided to obtain data from informants and to avoid the use of dictionaries (29).
• Merina dialect, now the official language of the Malagasy Republic, has been written since 1820 (32).
• In collecting basic vocabulary for Malagasy speech communities, we have used Swadesh's 100-item test list of diagnostic terms (reproduced in Hymes 1960:6) (34).
• The one hundred meanings have been collected for sixteen Malagasy speech communities (.). Two additional lists were constructed taking into account the existence of dual vocabularies in the Sakalava and Tandroy dialects. Dual vocabularies are commonly encountered in western and southern Madagascar (.) Special terms are particularly numerous when reference is being made to body parts and functions. While the use of these terms seems to be diminishing, some special vocabulary words have entered everyday parlance, now devoid of much of its former hierarchical framework. In all cases where there are special terms correlated with high status, there are alternatives for reference to commoners (34).
• A second avenue for the introduction of special terms into Malagasy vocabulary in certain speech communities has to do with taboo and replacement (34).
• Taboo is more difficult to control than dual vocabulary, and we are unable to say to what extent it has affected the results of our study (.). Like other culture elements, taboos on words spread from centers. Like other ideological struts to state systems, taboos are most forceful at the center or capital of the state administration. Some areas, which were under only the nominal political control of the Sakalava sovereigns, never adopted taboos to the same extent as communities nearer the geographical locus of kingly power (35).
• (Insofar as possible, we have registered) as noncognate the forms which are similar because one language has borrowed them from the other or because both have borrowed from a common source. In many instances, it is impossible to say whether cognates have been borrowed by one Malagasy dialect from another. In an environment in which contacts beween different communities took place through trade and warfare, there must have been word borrowing. One can only assume, if there is no discordant phonological evidence to the contrary, that basic cognates are shared because of common inheritance rather than as loan words (35).
• Because of the relative homogeneity of speech patterns throughout Madagascar, we could not be sure that all internal borrowings have been eliminated. It was possible, however, for us to discard those terms which can be demonstrated to have been borrowed from Swahili, for example, certain words for 'fish', 'dog', and 'louse' (35).
• This study is concerned with speech communities with a high degree of linguistic similarity and in which the number of cognates shared is in all cases higher than 50% and in some cases as high as 92% (54).
• The primary problem of lexicostatistical analysis of dialects lies in the assumption of independence. The retention rate is supposed to operate separately on each word list. Hymes (1960:19) cites three principal factors that would prevent independent dialect divergence. These are: contact, which increases the likelihood that words retained and dropped will be the same; drift, or the similarity of change resulting from similar internal structure of the language; and dregs, which refers to heterogeneity in a word list with respect to the probability of retention. If one were to use the standard formula to calculate divergence time given the percentage of shared cognates, each of the above factors would operate to produce an underestimate in time depth (55).
• (.) by using a theoretical genetic tree the linguist has a basis against which to compare his purely historical information (55).
• In our analysis of dialects, we are interested in the relationships of three variables. The first is time depth, a purely chronological factor indicating the total time that two populations speaking the languages in question have been separate. Separateness in this case may be defined simply as geographical discreteness, with the border between the linguistic areas to be determined empirically in each case. The second figure is the given figure for linguistic similarity measured for our purposes by the number of shared cognates for the word list as specified by Swadesh. The third variable would be some estimate for the kind of interaction between the two populations. This variable would presumably try to take into account the alteration in rate of change of the number of shared cognates that would be brought about by the fact that the two populations speak to one another. Traditional glottochronology is a method of estimating time depth only for populations that cannot communicate (.). What we are interested in doing is introducing a third variable to account for those situations in which the members of the two populations share enough similar cognates to understand one another, but in which dialect divergence is taking place and would presumably proceed up to the point where the two-variable analysis would suffice (56).
• The smallest percentage of shared cognates for any two Malagasy speech communities is that of Sakalava 2 (west coast) and Tambahoaka (east coast). These two groups share 52% cognates (59).
• (But this involves Sakalava's special vocabulary) (.). In view of these considerations, we have chosen to base our calculation on the smallest percentage of shared cognates of two Malagasy dialects neither of which is the special vocabulary list from a group with dual vocabularies. In this case the Tsimihety dialect of the northern interior of the island shares only 61% of its basic words as cognate with one other Malagasy speech community-Vezo, a group of marine fishermen located on the southwest coast near the city of Tulear (.). There is, however, no evidence which would suggest that these geographically separated populations have been in direct contact. On the other hand, were the populations in contact, communication would still be possible with 61% cognate sharing (.). In accordance with the above statements we thus conclude that the actual time of the first occupation of the island took place at some time in the first century A.D. and, with less probability, as early as the fourth century B.C. or as late as the fourth century A.D. (61)
• Based on (our) analysis, we have come to the following conclusions:
  1. Tkr is quite isolated from the other languages of the Malagasy Republic. Its closest collateral is Tsi.
  2. Tsi is also distinct, but somewhat less so than Tkr.
  3. An additional language found to be relatively apart from the rest of the dialects is Tbk.
  4. Me, Si, BtsA, BtsF, Tm, Tsk, and Zfs are all speech communities descended from languages which have undergone considerable linguistic diversification.
  5. Associated with the languages listed under (4), but somewhat less certainly related to the highly diversifying protolanguages, are Mf and Td1.
  6. Similar to the languages listed in (5), but more remotely associated, are Bsk, Vz and Ba.
  7. Still further removed from the group of languages we consider as 'recently diversified', are Sak1, Sak2 and of course Tsi and Tbk (see (2) and (3)).
  8. Our languages that appear descended from highly diversifying ancestors do not all constitute one group. In fact, they are divided into two groups that are evident on all the genealogical trees. These are Me-Si-BtsA-(BtsF?) and Tm-Tsk-Zfs.
  9 (Our) Chart 1 also defines an additional protolanguage that diverged from the Me-Si-BtsF-Bsk-Tm-Tsk-Zfs group before this latter group began splintering. This is the Vz-Mf-Td1-(Td2)-Ba dialect family (67).
  For reasons presented earlier, we conclude that the first occupation of the island took place sometime around the first century A.D. The population moved out over the uninhabited island and almost immediately diverged into three parts: ancestral-Tkr, ancestral-Tsi, and the protolanguage for the remaining languages of the Malagasy Republic. Slightly later ancestral-Tbk may have become evident. Perhaps during the middle of the first millenium the protolanguage divided itself into at least two groups, ancestral Me-Si-BtsA-BtsF-Bsk-Tm-Tsk-Zfs and ancestral-Vz-Mf-Td1-(Td2)-Ba. This latter group began dividing during the second half of the first millenium A.D. Ancestral Sak may also have become identifiable at this time. While ancestral Vz-Mf-Td1 (Td2-Ba was splitting into many parts, ancestral-Me-Si-BtsA-Bsk-Tm-Tsk-Zfs was dividing into two parts. Further divisions in both of these later two parts took place during the first half of the second millenium A.D (68).
• Dez (1963) has classified Malagasy speech communities into subgroups on the basis of phonology and morphology. His subgroups differ from those isolated through our glottochronological analysis, and we suggest, therefore, that Dez's conclusions be reconsidered. Dez found two significant subdivisions among the Malagasy languages. The first includes the dialects of the west and south, and the second, those of the east coast and central highlands (.).
  Our findings show that the northern dialects are indeed to be distinguished from both western-southern and eastern-central subgroups. However, not only are Tkr and Tsi sufficiently divergent to be placed apart from the western group, they are also sufficiently distinctive from one another in basic vocabulary to warrant placement in two subgroups rather than in a single subgroup. The findings of glottochronology reveal that the original diversification of Proto-Malagasy into subgroups involved three divisions, Proto-Tsi, Proto-Tkr, and proto-all the rest of the languages spoken in Madagascar today. It was later in Malagasy history that what Dez considers to be the principal division, that between eastern-central and western-southern, took place (.) (69).
• Madagascar was colonized by three groups. One of them became the Tsimihety of the northern interior(.). A second became the Tankarana, isolated from their nearest neighbours, the Tsimihety, and from all other Malagasy groups (.). A third group which has subsequently diversified to form all the rest of the contemporary Malagasy populations established itself along the eastern and the western coasts (.) (74).