Page:A Concise Grammar of the Malagasy Language.djvu/9



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:—

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.'