THE MALAGASY LANGUAGE. 
495 
The view of the language now given, as to its relationship 
to the Malay, is not, however, founded on the mere accidental 
circumstance, that some words are found common to the Malay 
and the Malagasy, but on a general comparison of the genius 
and structure of the two languages. That many words are 
obviously common to the two languages, may be seen by a 
cursory examination of Marsden’s Malayan Dictionary, and 
any Malagasy Vocabulary,* or by an inspection of Crawford’s 
Indian Archipelago.f Yet it is possible these words may have 
arisen out of circumstances not essentially connected with the 
origin of the language—although their number seems to render 
such a supposition almost incredible. 
But a similar grammatical structure between two languages, 
can never be satisfactorily explained, without reference to a 
common origin. And of this common origin, the grammars of 
the two languages under review, afford more decisive evidence 
than their respective vocabularies. In truth, as it has been 
* A Malagasy Dictionary in two parts, English, and Malagasy, by the Rev. 
J. J. Freeman, and Malagasy and English, by the Rev. D. Johns, has been 
published, and may be obtained at Messrs. Fisher & Jackson’s, 38, Newgate- 
street; and Black and Armstrong, Tavistock-street. 
f In illustration of the verbal affinity between these two languages, the 
following examples may 
be adduced : 
Malagasy. 
Malay. 
English. 
toaka . 
... toddy, any intoxicating 
manasa.. 
... to wher, sharpen [liquor 
anaka, zanaka .. 
... a child 
masaka. 
,.. ripe 
alona. 
... a wave 
ompa. 
... calumny 
ova .. 
... change 
ovy . 
... edible roots, yams 
tahotra . 
... fear 
olitra. 
... a worm 
iny...,. 
... this 
vono . 
... killing 
voa . 
... fruit 
bitsika . 
... whisper 
tady . 
... rope 
taona. 
year 
lanitra . 
... sky 
tany fotsy. 
... chalk 
fasika or fasina .. 
. fasir . 
... sand 
arina. 
charcoal 
rivotra . 
... wind 
helatra . 
... lightning 
taolana . 
... bone 
hoditra . 
... skin 
tomotra. 
... heel 
aty . 
... liver 
nana.. 
... pus 
nosv . 
... island 
