Languages of Madagascar

The official languages of Madagascar are Malagasy and French. The Malagasy language, of Austronesian origin, is generally spoken throughout the island. 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%).

In the first Constitution of 1958, Malagasy and French were named the official languages of the Malagasy Republic. Among the elites in large cities, French is spoken as a native language.

One notable aspect of the linguistic situation in Madagascar, compared to many French speaking African countries, is the presence of a prominent national, official, and relatively standardized language—Malagasy—alongside French. Malagasy belongs to the Austronesian language family and was introduced to Madagascar by Indonesian emigrants who settled on the island between the 4th and 7th centuries CE.

Malagasy exhibits a range of regional dialects across the island. The Merina variety, spoken in the Antananarivo region, was chosen as the national and official language by the authorities. Determining the exact boundaries and mutual significance of these Malagasy "dialects" is challenging. Generally, mutual intelligibility is possible, though it can be difficult in some cases. While some varieties are very close and share much of their basic vocabulary, others are nearly unintelligible to speakers of different varieties.

The official and national status of Merina Malagasy is largely due to the unification efforts undertaken by King Andrianampoinimerina of the Merina people in the early 19th century. His son, King Radama I, continued these efforts by standardizing the language. Radama I sought the assistance of British and French missionaries to develop a writing system for Malagasy. In 1823, a decree established the rules for transcribing Malagasy using the Latin alphabet. This period also saw the emergence of grammars, dictionaries, and a Malagasy translation of the Bible.

The spread of French in Madagascar has been hybrid in nature. Initially, French was introduced by settlers who arrived on the island in the 17th and 18th centuries. However, this colonization was on a much smaller scale compared to the extensive settlements seen in the Mascarene Islands (Réunion, Mauritius) and North America. Additionally, the current presence of French in Madagascar is only marginally related to this early colonization, as the descendants of these early settlers largely integrated into the local population.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, French was further disseminated by missionaries and colonizers. This expansion involved both the implantation of French and, in some aspects, a form of overlay. Similar to what occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa, French was introduced to local elites, beginning with the Merina royalty, and later extended to the general population through education. During the colonial period, French education spread across the entire territory. From its introduction, French was associated with social prestige compared to Malagasy. This mode of expansion explains why French is predominantly present in urban areas and has struggled to penetrate rural regions.

French did not displace Malagasy, which maintained its status as the national lingua franca. Malagasy continued to serve as the primary language for domestic use, religion, and traditional culture. Notably, unlike many situations in Black Africa, French did not undergo significant vernacularization in Madagascar. Malagasy remains a national language with no international influence, while French has taken on the role of the primary language for international communication. The current importance of French (in government, media, etc.) is often justified by its value as an international language.