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I really suggest that everyone once in their life take a journey through the Malagasy diksionera. This language is kind of hilarious. I literally read the dictionary for fun……………… wish I was lying.

SINCE most people haven’t heard of Malagasy and you probably don’t have a dictionary lying around I will help you out

Interesting thing #1: there is no word for “to be”

Interesting thing #2: the sentence structure is backwards yoda speak “eat corn I” “have book you”

Interesting thing #3: It is a simple language. For instance, bibi is animal. Bibikely = small animal = insect. Bibilava = long animal = snake. So cute.

Interesting thing #3: pretty much any word that exists in Malagasy can be doubled and this tweaks the meaning to weaken the word slightly. Example: kely = smallà  kelikely= kind of small. Mipetraka = to sit à mipetrapetraka = to sit around. Indray = again à indraindray = sometimes

For some reason I just find this really adorable. And fun to play with. 

There are also many hilarious words where you feel like the whole history and culture of Madagascar is sitting right in your mouth when you say it. Par exemple

Masay = the second wife in a polygynous family

Manjehy = to measure by spanning with the hand

Manakobaka = to slosh clothes around in water

Fotsy rora = technically means white person spit but also means “who speaks but is not listened to”

Mandry fotsy = to go to bed without eating, especially without eating rice

Fanantazana = the act of collecting in a basket

Dobodobohana= to be made to thump like a drum

Baiko = a foreign word ; a command

Bao = a pole for carrying burdens across the shoulder

Antsamotady = a sling for throwing stones

Antsanga = trash and mud deposited by flood water

Valim-babena = the duty of grown children to help their parents