Learning a new language takes patience and practice. The process of mastering foreign tongue is often challenging, frustrating, confusing, and exasperating. My experience of learning Malagasy is no exception. Fortunately, however, in my plight of this arduous task I have encountered moments of happy sunshine beaming through in the forms of hilarious-sounding vocabulary and phrases. Even more fortunately, enough of this candescent hilarity has occurred to inspire a list of my 10 favorite Malagasy words to say, which I now present. I am also sharing 10 of my favorite Malagasy proverbs (in their English translations), which I value for both humor and wisdom.
My favorite Malagasy words
» Adaladala (ah-dahlla-dahlla): adj. Kind of crazy
» Migaka (me-gack-ah): v. To drink (Antakarana dialect)
» Madinky (ma-dinky): adj. Small or Tiny (Antakarana dialect)
» Lafo (laff-oo): adj. Expensive
» Omby (oom-bee): n. Bovine (cow)
» Sabotsy (sab-oo-tsy): n. Saturday
» Mitoto (me-too-too): v. To smash or grind
» Milakilaky (me-lacky-lacky): v. To go quickly
» Hahajamba (ha-ha-jahm-bah): Will cause blindness
» Sambatra (sahm-bah-trah): adj. Blessed
My favorite Malagasy proverbs
» Flatters, like rats, tickle and then bite.
» All who live under the sky are woven together like one big mat.
» The end of an ox is beef, and the end of a lie is grief.
» Greet everyone cordially when you don't know who your in-laws are going to be.
» Wealth is like hair in the nose: it hurts to be separated whether from a little or from a lot.
» It is better to refuse than to accept and not to go.
» Distracted by what is far away, he does not see his nose.
» When you treat someone like a wild cat, he will steal your chickens.
» Behave like the chameleon: look forward and observe behind.
» Truth is like sugar cane; even if you chew it for a long time, it is still sweet.
Oh my goodness! Those proverbs are too funny---and wise. I thought the words sounded something like the way Jar Jar talks in Star Wars.
ReplyDeleteHaha and Yoda too!
DeleteThere's a new post!
ReplyDeleteHere are my observations:
» Greet everyone cordially when you don't know who your in-laws are going to be.
I say: For sure! Even after you DO know who your in-laws are going to be, you never know who your boss is going to be - or who is going to have to be a character witness in court!
» Wealth is like hair in the nose: it hurts to be separated whether from a little or from a lot.
I say: No. If you only have a little nose hair, it hurts a LOT, If you have a lot of nose hair/money, you can probably afford a nose hair trimmer, and it hurts way less.
It would be more accurate to say that money is like upper lip hair. Because no matter how much you wax that, it hurts every. single. time.
» It is better to refuse than to accept and not to go.
I say: This is true; I totally agree. The thing is, if you are asked in person it is hard to say no - you feel terrible seeing the disappointment. But if you say yes, you can refuse by text, and then the grief is far removed.
» Distracted by what is far away, he does not see his nose.
I say: Well, yeah, but you can't walk around looking at your nose all day. Someone will hit you in the back of the head, and your face will be stuck like that forever.
Also, I'm so glad to see you alive and active again@
Lydia
Why are you:
Delete1. So funny. But for real. Reading this comment made my day!!
2. So far away from me. Ok yeah yeah, it's my fault. But WHY