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32 Madagascar and Comoros

  • Ursula Reutner , Philipp Heidepeter and Marc Chalier
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Manual of Romance Languages in Africa
This chapter is in the book Manual of Romance Languages in Africa

Abstract

French is only spoken by a quarter of the population in Madagascar and Comoros, primarily in urban and educated circles, while almost everyone uses Malagasy and Comorian. Both countries were once French colonies and experienced a troubled history after independence, which Madagascar gained in 1960 and Comoros in 1975. French serves as a co-official language besides Malagasy in mainly Christian Madagascar and besides Comorian and Arabic in mainly Muslim Comoros. It enjoys a privileged status in administration, education, written media, and literature. Malagasy and Comorian are used in parliament debates and audiovisual media, too, and Malagasy also appears in official texts, newspapers, literature, and as a taught subject. Malagasy and Comorian French show phonetic, morphosyntactic, and lexical particularities, which are better described for the former than for the latter, especially on the lexical level. Deviations from standard French are generally evaluated negatively but sometimes also seen positively. They do not only occur in oral communication but also in media and literature.

Abstract

French is only spoken by a quarter of the population in Madagascar and Comoros, primarily in urban and educated circles, while almost everyone uses Malagasy and Comorian. Both countries were once French colonies and experienced a troubled history after independence, which Madagascar gained in 1960 and Comoros in 1975. French serves as a co-official language besides Malagasy in mainly Christian Madagascar and besides Comorian and Arabic in mainly Muslim Comoros. It enjoys a privileged status in administration, education, written media, and literature. Malagasy and Comorian are used in parliament debates and audiovisual media, too, and Malagasy also appears in official texts, newspapers, literature, and as a taught subject. Malagasy and Comorian French show phonetic, morphosyntactic, and lexical particularities, which are better described for the former than for the latter, especially on the lexical level. Deviations from standard French are generally evaluated negatively but sometimes also seen positively. They do not only occur in oral communication but also in media and literature.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Manuals of Romance Linguistics V
  3. Table of Contents VII
  4. 1 Introduction 1
  5. Northern Africa
  6. French
  7. 2 Algeria 23
  8. 3 Morocco 43
  9. 4 Tunisia 71
  10. Italian
  11. 5 Libya 85
  12. Portuguese
  13. 6 Portugal: Madeira 95
  14. Spanish
  15. 7 Spain: Canary Islands 115
  16. 8 Spain: Ceuta and Melilla 147
  17. Western Africa
  18. French
  19. 9 Benin 169
  20. 10 Burkina Faso 193
  21. 11 Côte d’Ivoire 221
  22. 12 Guinea 241
  23. 13 Mali 265
  24. 14 Mauritania 289
  25. 15 Niger 319
  26. 16 Senegal 337
  27. 17 Togo 391
  28. Portuguese
  29. 18 Cabo Verde 413
  30. 19 Guinea-Bissau 447
  31. Middle Africa
  32. French
  33. 20 Cameroon 469
  34. 21 Central African Republic 483
  35. 22 Chad 497
  36. 23 Congo-Brazzaville 507
  37. 24 Congo-Kinshasa 537
  38. 25 Gabon 551
  39. Portuguese
  40. 26 Angola 579
  41. 27 São Tomé and Príncipe 609
  42. Spanish
  43. 28 Equatorial Guinea 625
  44. Eastern Africa
  45. French
  46. 29 Burundi and Rwanda 643
  47. 30 Djibouti 669
  48. 31 France: Réunion and Mayotte 691
  49. 32 Madagascar and Comoros 717
  50. 33 Mauritius and Seychelles 753
  51. Italian
  52. 34 Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia 783
  53. Portuguese
  54. 35 Mozambique 809
  55. Overview
  56. Country Key Facts
  57. 36 Country Key Facts 827
  58. Language Index 841
  59. Linguistic Subject Index 849
  60. General Subject Index 855
  61. Person Index 867
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110628869-032

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Manuals of Romance Linguistics V
  3. Table of Contents VII
  4. 1 Introduction 1
  5. Northern Africa
  6. French
  7. 2 Algeria 23
  8. 3 Morocco 43
  9. 4 Tunisia 71
  10. Italian
  11. 5 Libya 85
  12. Portuguese
  13. 6 Portugal: Madeira 95
  14. Spanish
  15. 7 Spain: Canary Islands 115
  16. 8 Spain: Ceuta and Melilla 147
  17. Western Africa
  18. French
  19. 9 Benin 169
  20. 10 Burkina Faso 193
  21. 11 Côte d’Ivoire 221
  22. 12 Guinea 241
  23. 13 Mali 265
  24. 14 Mauritania 289
  25. 15 Niger 319
  26. 16 Senegal 337
  27. 17 Togo 391
  28. Portuguese
  29. 18 Cabo Verde 413
  30. 19 Guinea-Bissau 447
  31. Middle Africa
  32. French
  33. 20 Cameroon 469
  34. 21 Central African Republic 483
  35. 22 Chad 497
  36. 23 Congo-Brazzaville 507
  37. 24 Congo-Kinshasa 537
  38. 25 Gabon 551
  39. Portuguese
  40. 26 Angola 579
  41. 27 São Tomé and Príncipe 609
  42. Spanish
  43. 28 Equatorial Guinea 625
  44. Eastern Africa
  45. French
  46. 29 Burundi and Rwanda 643
  47. 30 Djibouti 669
  48. 31 France: Réunion and Mayotte 691
  49. 32 Madagascar and Comoros 717
  50. 33 Mauritius and Seychelles 753
  51. Italian
  52. 34 Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia 783
  53. Portuguese
  54. 35 Mozambique 809
  55. Overview
  56. Country Key Facts
  57. 36 Country Key Facts 827
  58. Language Index 841
  59. Linguistic Subject Index 849
  60. General Subject Index 855
  61. Person Index 867
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