MALAGASY GRAMMAR.
Letters.—The Malagasy Alphabet contains the same letters as the English Alphabet, with the exception of c, q, u, w, and x.
Vowels and Diphthongs.—These are pronounced as follows:—
| a | as | a | in | psalm; | example, | tàna, (a) chamæleon. |
| e | ... | a | ... | date; | ... | èny, yes. |
| i | ... | ee | ... | weep; | ... | hìdy, (a) lock. |
| o | ... | oo | ... | too; | ... | òny, (a) river. |
These are the usual sounds of the four vowels.
| ai, ay |  |
pronounced | like | i | in | might. |
| ei, ey | 
| |||||
| ao | ... | ... | ow | ... | now. |
These two sounds are the only true diphthongs.
Y represents the same sound as i, but is used at the ends of words, has a lighter sound, and becomes mute in certain cases; while, in the translation of the New Testament, y is used in the body of words taken from the Greek to represent the letter upsīlon: thus, sỳnagògy, synagogue.
O, when used as the sign of a vocative case, or in names introduced from another language (as Rajòna, John), has the sound of o in 'no.'
