The

Malagasy language Malagasy (; ) is an Austronesian language and the national language of Madagascar. Malagasy is the westernmost Malayo-Polynesian language, brought to Madagascar by the settlement of Austronesian peoples from the Sunda islands around the 5th c ...

of Austronesian origin, is generally spoken throughout the island. The

official language An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...

s of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Afric ...

are Malagasy and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. Madagascar is a

Francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

country, and French is spoken among the educated population of this former

French colony The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that exist ...

. French is spoken by less than a fifth of the population in Madagascar. In the first Constitution of 1958, Malagasy and French were named the official languages of the Malagasy Republic. No official languages were mentioned in the Constitution of 1992. Instead, Malagasy was named the national language; however, many sources still claimed that Malagasy and French were official languages, as they were ''de facto''. In April 2000, a citizen brought a legal case on the grounds that the publication of official documents in the French language only was unconstitutional. The High Constitutional Court observed in its decision that, in the absence of a language law, French still had the character of an official language. In the Constitution of 2007, Malagasy remained the national language while official languages were reintroduced: Malagasy, French, and English. The motivation for the inclusion of English was partly to improve relations with the neighboring countries where English is used and to encourage

foreign direct investment A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment in the form of a controlling ownership in a business in one country by an entity based in another country. It is thus distinguished from a foreign portfolio investment by a notion of direct c ...

. English was removed as an official language from the constitution approved by voters in the November 2010 referendum. These results were not recognized by the political opposition or the

international community The international community is an imprecise phrase used in geopolitics and international relations to refer to a broad group of people and governments of the world. As a rhetorical term Aside from its use as a general descriptor, the term is t ...

, who cited lack of transparency and inclusiveness in the organization of the election by the

High Transitional Authority The High Transitional Authority ( Malagasy: ''Fitondrana Avon'ny Tetezamita'' (FAT); french: Haute autorité de transition or HAT) was a provisional executive body that came to power in Madagascar following the coup that forced Marc Ravalomanana t ...

Minority languages

Maore Comorian, also called Comorian, Comores Swahili, Komoro, Comoro, or

Shimaore Maore Comorian, or ''Shimaore'' ( French ''Mahorais''), is one of the two indigenous languages spoken in the French-ruled Comorian islands of Mayotte; Shimaore being a dialect of the Comorian language, while ShiBushi is an unrelated Malayo-Po ...

, has two dialects, Maore, and Shindzwani/Shindzuani. It is considered threatened by the Endangered Language Project.

References

External links

*
Linguistic map of the world/ Madagascar

Malagasy-English Bilingual Dictionary
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