Cultural Differences: My Favorite Things About The Malagasy Language

If you are like me, you are not especially skilled at learning and speaking new languages.  However, though I am not great at speaking them, I do find certain things about languages fascinating.  The fact that we can understand language at all is truly a miracle.  The following is my attempt to communicate the amazing thing that language is, and I want to do that by describing my favorite things about the Malagasy language!  My idea is not to help you learn the language, but to amaze you with things like grammar.  (Only 22% of you will continue reading after that sentence.)

• The pronunciation of Malagasy is pretty easy, unlike English where a vowel makes whatever sound it wants, whenever it wants (i.e. “seen” and “been.”  Who decided “been” should sound like Ben?)  The main difference between Malagasy and English pronunciation is that “i” sounds like “ee” and “o” always sounds like “oo.” My favorite practice word is “mifofofofo,” pronounced meefoofoofoofoo, which means “breathe”.
• In Malagasy, verbs come first and subjects last.  The word order is the equivalent of “Go to the store I,” and “Writes a blog post Ryan.”  At first I thought, “Is it even sensical to put the verb first?  How do they function as rational human beings if the verb comes first?”  It turns out they function just fine.

My friend Garrett gave me this book before I left America. It has been a life saver.

• One difficulty for non-native speakers is that every verb starts with an “m”.  Miazakazaka (run) Milalao (play) Mitoriteny (preach) Miresaka (talk) Mampianatra (teach) Mitomany (cry) et.  I was about to pull all my fuzzy hair out learning verbs at first because they all sound alike.
• Why do all the verbs start with “m”?  Because, the first letter, in this case “m” is what communicates the tense in Malagasy.  There are only three tenses—present, past, and future—and you make them by changing the first letter.  “M” is for present tense.  “N” is for past tense.  “H” is for future tense.  Thus: mihinana = eat; nihinana = ate; hihinana = will eat.
• Verbs are not conjugated! This proves that those languages where you must say “I run” but “He runs” are just silly for all the extra work they create.
• The word for God is “Andriamanitra” which is just really long (6 syllables).  In fact a lot of the words here are long, like “fanatanzaha tena” (7 syllables) which means sport.  Or “famantarinandro” (6 syllables) which means clock.
• Many words in Malagasy are recursive, which sounds very interesting if you try it in English.  What that means is, if you take a part of the word and repeat it to create a word that is almost the same.  Examples will help, so I will pretend you can do this in English.

“What color is your prom dress?”  “It is purplurple .”  (It’s light purple.)

“Do you have a small dog or a big dog?” “My dog is smallsmall.” (My dog is kind of small.)

“We call that fruit a mangao.” “We use a word that is samame in English.”  (We use a word that is almost the same in English.)

This doesn’t sound silly in Malagasy.  I wish we could do it in English.

• One thing they really like to do is use the passive voice.  So instead of saying, I lost the key, they would prefer you say the equivalent of “The key is lost by me,” or “Pierre was not seen by me today,” etc.  In English, we would say that is a weak use of language, but they really like it.
• I’ll end with this one, because it seemed so strange to me at first.  Malagasy does not use the verb be, which we conjugate as am, is, are, etc.  You will probably think these sentences sound strange and childish:  I hungry.  The apples ripe.  She my wife.  Food good!  The sentence incomplete.  As strange as those sentences might sound, my guess is that you understood them.  A language works just fine without the verb “to be.” Though you sound like a three-year-old if you neglect the verb “to be” in English, in Malagasy, that is just the way the language works!

Hooray for Reading!!!

Books are great!  A couple months ago, I wrote about some of the books I have been reading.  And now, here are more of them!!!

Cross-Cultural Servanthood: Serving The World In Christlike Humility
Duane Elmer 

If not for this book, I think my ministry and mindset here would be vastly different.  Pride is always a danger, and especially so when one tries to be a servant.  Because missionaries come to give and serve, they often start thinking or acting like the people they are serving have nothing to offer them.  For example, if I lead a Bible Study with the Malagasy people, will I listen to them, or will I assume I am the one with all the answers?  Surely anything these believers have to say will be somewhat childish, right?  Surely I will need to supplement a Sunday sermon heard here from a Malagasy pastor with a Podcast from America where I can get some real teaching.  Right?  Elmer’s premise is that missionaries, and anyone who serves cross-culturally will be much more affective, loving, joyful, and Christlike if they stop giving the impression that they are better than the people they are serving.

The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time
Jeff Sachs

Jeff Sachs is an economist, and a happily optimistic one.  When he talks about ending poverty, he is talking specifically about extreme poverty.  This is not a kind of poverty that exists in America; America has relative poverty, not extreme poverty. Extreme poverty exists where people have almost no access to reliable food, clean water, modern medicine, education, transportation, etc.  In extreme poverty, such that which exists in many parts of subsaharan Africa, people have almost no chance of getting themselves out.  Jeff Sachs believes we have the resources to end this kind of extreme poverty, and he explains the problem and a solution (which he says can be accomplished in about 20 years) in this book.  Perhaps it is a little too optimistic, but I enjoyed the book because Sachs does believe something needs to be done, and that something can be done.  He knows it wouldn’t be easy and that there is no simple solution, but he thinks that with patience and effort, extreme poverty can be ended.

Ethics
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

This was the book Bonhoeffer thought of as his most important, however, he was not able to finish it.  Reading it is often like reading unfinished thoughts.  There are large and wonderful sections, but they lack connection.  Still, it was a great and thought provoking book. His major themes are that Christian Ethics are not about becoming the judges between right and wrong or good and evil.  Trying to determine our own set of judgements inevitably falls short and leads to Phariseeism.  This was also the origin of the fall, where Eve desired to know good and evil.  Rather, Christian ethics is about becoming reconciled to God and his will, since only God’s will is what is good.  In other words, God is the judge, and following God’s will is what we need to do.  Now this is not the same as simply saying that there is no such thing as right and wrong or that we can’t claim to know it.   What he is saying is that, as we listen to God through his Word, we let his Word be the judge and we simply follow that.  We will, in a sense, make judgements, and stive for what is right, but only as those listening to the judge, not as people who want to become the judge.  The other major theme is that God’s will is not separate from the world, but takes place in the world.  A Christian ethic must engage the world, not withdraw from it.  God created us human, and wants us to live human lives.  There were sections and chapters of this book that were so good and insightful, that I immediately reread them.

Three Cheers For Reading!

I used to love reading.  How many wonderful hours were spent reading Goosebumps, or the Redwall series, or—need I even mention it—Harry Potter (I don’t think it requires a link)!  But then high school came along, and they taught me to hate reading.  Then in college I became an English major and had to read epistolary novels like Desmond, which was an experience like being water-boarded by a book.  Luckily, I made it out of college alive, and have since realized that books are great!  Books tell great stories and stories make you think.  That’s why Jesus told so many stories!

Here in Madagascar life sort of shuts down from lunch to three because everyone takes a nap.  Not being a napper, I have instead been able to read bunches of books with my handy Kindle!  (I was skeptical about reading on an eReader, but I’ve found it enjoyable, and certainly more convenient than packing twenty pounds of books.) So the rest of this post is just for the curious.  If you would like to know what books I’ve been reading and whose thoughts I have been trying to think along with, read onward!  And if you have a book suggestion, let me know!  I am especially fond of older things, since older things tend to be free or very cheap on Kindle.

Brazzled

braz·zled [bra-zəld]
adj

1. of or relating to a state of eyebrow furrowing, reflecting either serious reflection, confusion, consternation, or sleepiness: Seeing that cow intestine was being served for dinner, Ryan was brazzled.

2. spontaneous musical giddiness: The passengers on the bus were surprised that Ryan was giving a brazzled performance of “Bet On It.”

3. given to strained communication characterized by closed eyes and contorted hand gestures close to the face: His roommates was perplexed but entertained by Ryan’s brazzled argument.

4. affected by someone displaying one or more brazzled characteristics: I’ve been brazzled by Brazzle.

Pants Poem

Only those who give thanks for little things receive the great things as well…We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the small (and yet really not so small!) gifts we receive daily.  How can God entrust great things to those who will not gratefully receive the little things from God’s hand?

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

 Love e’er-growing, “Sing aloud!”
For pants that feel like feathered clouds.
There is no fear; I brave the heat,
With I in them, and them on me.

Light-brown, with pockets all around,
You whisper swishy walking sounds
As I explore the dusty streets,
With I in you, and you on me.

How many pockets?  Count once more!
The hidden one’s for my passport.
With seven pockets, I carry
So much in you, with you on me.

There is no need to wash you much;
Perhaps just twice or thrice a month,
Shake off the dust: Viola, you’re clean!
I’m back in you, and you’re on me.

In mythic lands were you once wrought?
Are you made of elven cloth?
What e’er your fabled origins be,
I have found you.  You’re found on me.

O thank you God for tiny gifts!
Like pants that make tired spirits lift.
For greatest gifts, we’re thankful too—
The gift that stands forever true—
That You’re in me, and I’m in You.