Malagasy is the language spoken in Madagascar， an island nation off the southeast coast of Africa. It is a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language family. Malagasy is a tonal language， which means that different tones or pitches can change the meaning of a word.
Malagasy is a language with a long history， and its vocabulary and grammar have been influenced by other languages， including French， English， Swahili and Arabic. The language is spoken by approximately 17 million people， and is the official language of Madagascar.
The Malagasy language is written using the Latin alphabet， as well as a few letters from the Greek and Arabic alphabets. It has several dialects， which are spoken in different parts of the country.
Malagasy is pronounced [mɑːləˈɡæsi]， with the stress on the second syllable. It is pronounced with a rising intonation， meaning that the pitch of the word rises as you say it.
语音朗读：