Free eBooks Malagasy-English/English-Malagasy: Dictionary And Phrasebook (Hippocrene Dictionary & Phrasebook) Available To Downloads
Malagasy, the national language of Madagascar, has over 10 million speakers. This dictionary and phrasebook provides the traveller to this beautiful island with the means for basic communication, as well as an introduction to the country's culture.
Series: Hippocrene Dictionary & Phrasebook
Paperback: 171 pages
Publisher: Hippocrene Books; First Edition edition (April 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 078180843X
ISBN-13: 978-0781808439
Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 3.5 x 7.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #769,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #170 in Books > Reference > Etiquette > Conversation #556 in Books > Travel > Reference > Phrasebooks #615 in Books > Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > English
I am a former Peace Corps volunteer from Madagascar and currently a resident in the country after four years. I am fluent in the Malagasy language. I do not recommend this dictionary to anyone traveling to madagascar. This dictionary is difficult to use, insufficient, and often incorrect. It is also very expensive compared to the dictionaries available in any major city in Madagascar.There are two excellent dictionaries in print in Madagascar. They are printed by the malagasy lutheran press. The malgasy-english dictionary is pink and sells for 4,000 Ariary (2 dollars) in the capital. The better of the two english-malgasy dictionaries available in madagascar is the yellow, pocket dictionary. This dictionary includes a list of useful obolana (proverbs) and their translations as well as some cryptic grammar notes (but what grammar notes aren't cryptic).In short- don't buy this online if you are going to madagascar as you can buy cheap, good dictionaries when you get there (even at the airport). If you want to learn some words before you get there go to the online dictionary at [...]Good luck. Mazotoa!
Being a relative unknown language this book has done a good job in many respects. There are difficulties with the language in that it is more of a spoken language rather than written. It is also difficult if not impossible to learn the sounds of the Malagasy language as the Malagasy elide (omit) many syllables in their speech, therefore making it necessary to actually hear the Malagasy speak. Also, there are 22 regions in Madagascar and sometimes it is hard even for the Malagasy to understand each other. The biggest problem I have with this dictionary is the ability to cross-reference words from one language to the other. The same words do not appear in both languages (Malagasy and English). Also, there are some words which are not able to be translated from Malagasy but are important in their sentence structure and are not explained in the book. This may be a harsh critism since the book is not intended to be a grammar book! Therefore I gave the book a 4 for it's intended purpose.
This is a very well-written book and helped me a great deal on my 6 week trip to Madagascar. Know, however, that there are MANY dialects and this one is best for the capital and central Madagascar area. I went to Nosy Komba and Nosy Be for an extended time and no one had much idea what I was saying. French helps everywhere.
This dictionary was quite useful to me on a recent trip to Madagascar. It has wonderful sections divided into subject matter such as: "Meeting & Greetings", "Eating/Meals", "Camping", "Typical Travel Interactions". and other such helpful categories. As this seems to be the only Malagasy dictionary available in the U.S., it definately served its purpose well!
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