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Bezanozano is an Austronesian language part of the Plateau branch of Malagasy language.[3]
Geographic distribution
Bezanozano dialect is spoken in the region of Alaotra Mangoro especially around the district of Moramanga.[4][5]
Characteristics
The Bezanozano dialect shares many features with both the Merina and Sihanaka. It retains suffixes typical of Merina such as -ka, -tra, and -na.
Like Sihanaka, Bezanozano often uses the nasalized gn (pronounced /ŋ/) in place of n in some words. For example, tragno (house) is used instead of the Merina trano. This gn form has disappeared in Merina but remains in Bezanozano and Sihanaka.[6]
Many Bezanozano words are similar to Merina, but with a provincial pronunciation.
Although the Bezanozano and Antefasy are spoken in geographically distant regions of Madagascar, they display notable lexical similarities. These shared items suggest the existence of an earlier plateau proto-language within the Central-Eastern group, alongside Southern Betsimisaraka, from which these varieties may have descended. For example, the word for needle is filo in Southern Betsimisaraka , instead of fanjaitra as in Standard Malagasy.
Comparative Vocabulary of Bezanozano, Antefasy, and Merina
^Molet, Louis (1957). Petit guide de toponymie malgache(PDF) (in French). Tananarive: Scientific Research Institute of Madagascar, Department of Human Sciences. pp. map (unnumbered) + p. 7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link) The map is placed before the numbered pages.
^Ferrand, Gabriel (1909). Essai de phonétique comparée du malais et des dialectes malgaches: thèse pour le doctorat d'université, présentée à la Faculté des lettres de l'Université de Paris (in French). Paris: Paul Geuthner. p. XL.
^"The Antananarivo Annual and Madagascar Magazine". The Antananarivo Annual and Madagascar Magazine. 1 (1‑3). Press of the London Missionary Society (Antananarivo): 42. 1875.
