Malagasy phonology
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The phonology of Malagasy is simple on the surface due to the number of segments in the language. However, the segments behave in complex ways, depending on how derivatives are formed.
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Alphabet
There are twenty-one graphs in Malagasy (which uses the Roman alphabet):
a, b, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, v, y, z
In addition, there are three non-alphabetic digraphs dr, tr, ts, which behave like single segments, even though they are two phonemes.
General Sounds
The sounds b, d, f, l, m, n, p, t, v are as in English. The following additional sounds are pronounced thus:
a represents /a/ in stressed position (like a in father, and /ә/ unstressed (like a in ago):
lalana road /'la lә nә/
dr is a voiced retroflex sound /dr/, but acts like one unit: [examples]
e is always /e/, between e in get and a in hate (i.e. it is a true vowel sound):
ome to give /u 'me/
g is pronounced /g/ in normal contexts, but /gj/ when preceded or followed by /i/: [examples]
h is usually a mute sound in Malagasy; in very rare contexts is it pronounced /h/.
i is always /i/, like i in machine. It is not used in final position, or in monosyllables: [examples]
j is pronounced /dz/, like ds in beds; sometimes, especially before y it approximates /d3/:
k, like g above, is /k/ in normal contexts, but /kj/ when preceded or followed by /i/:
aiky to ... /'ai kji/
o is pronounced not /o/, but /u/ (like u in truth:
volana moon /'vu lә nә/
r is a trilled /r/, like the Scots "r" or Spanish "rr"
rano water /'ra nu/
s is between /s/, as in sip, and /S/ sh as in ship. When followed by unstressed /i/, it approximates more /S/:
(hence the French word "malgache", which happened because in the native form "malagasy", the second /a/ weakened, and the final /i/ softened the /s/.)
tr is the voiceless retroflex sound /tr/, which acts like one unit, and is the counterpart to dr: [examples]
ts is the voiceless sound /ts/, which acts like one unit, and is the counterpart to j:
tsy not /tsi/
tsara good /'tsa rә/
y is the sound /i/ in final position, and in monosyllables:
ny the /ni/
azy don't ... /'a zi/
z is the voiced counterpart to s, and behaves like it, i.e. between /z/ and /3/
Other Sounds
ai is, in careful speech, diphthong /ai/, but sometimes can approximate /e/ (which may be represented in writing): aikena ... [passive verb] /ai 'kje nө/ ~ /e 'kje nө/ (often written as ekena)
ao is, in careful speech, diphthong /au/, but more often, it represents /o/, especially in borrowings:
paoma apple /'pau mө/ ~ /'po mө/
ei is mostly /ei/, but sometimes can coalesce to /e/:
[examples]
ô is the native reflex that represents /o/ in limited contexts:
ô Raso! Oh, Raso /o 'ra su/
Syllables
Structure
The basic structure of Malagasy syllables is CV, with one variant NCV (where "N" is a homorganic* nasal).
*A homorganic nasal is a nasal that matches the place of the following consonant, e.g. m is homorganic to p, b, while n /n/ is homorganic to t, d, s, z, etc....
Stress
Malagasy words fall into two main categories for stress:
strong: words ending in any syllable other than ka, tra; words ending in na can be strong or weak
weak: words ending in ka, tra or na
