Antesaka dialect

Antesaka
Tesaka
Native to	Madagascar
Ethnicity	Antesaka
Native speakers	1,969,000 [1]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Western Indonesian Barito East Barito Central-Eastern Malagasic Antesaka
Writing system	Latin script (Malagasy alphabet)
Language codes
ISO 639-3	tkg
Glottolog	anta1261
Linguasphere	31-LDA-bf
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Tesaka is a dialect of Malagasy spoken by Antesaka people in the region of Atsimo Atsinanana,Madagascar. ^[2]

Classification

Antesaka is a dialect of Malagasy belonging to the Central-Eastern branch of the language. It is grouped alongside other dialects within this branch, including those of the Plateau Malagasy (such as Merina and Antefasy), the Southern Betsimisaraka dialect, and the Sahafatra dialect.

Characteristics

Among the Central-Eastern Malagasy dialects, the Sahafatra dialect is considered the most closely related to Antesaka. The Antesaka dialect also exhibits notable similarities with the neighboring Antanosy dialect, largely due to their geographic proximity. These similarities include shared vocabulary and a common phonological feature: the suppression of the suffix -na or -gn, which is typically found in other Central-Eastern dialects. The use of the suffix -na or -gn is characteristic of most Central-Eastern Malagasy varieties, but it is notably absent in Antesaka, Sahafatra, and Southern Betsileo dialects.

Geographical distribution

The Antesaka dialect is spoken across a broad area in southeastern Madagascar, from the southern part of the Farafangana District to the Fort-Dauphin District, and from the Iakora District in the west—historically associated with the Bara people—to the Indian Ocean in the east. This area corresponds to the districts of Befotaka Sud District, Midongy-Atsimo District, Vangaindrano District, and partially to Vondrozo District and Farafangana District. ^[3]

Vocabulary

Numerals

English gloss	Malagasy standard gloss	Antesaka gloss
One	Iray/Isa	Iraiky/Isa
Two	Roa	Roy
Three	Telo	Telo
Four	Efatra	Efatry
Five	Dimy	Dimy
Six	Enina	Eny
Seven	Fito	Fito
Eight	Valo	Valo
Nine	Sivy	Sivy
Ten	Folo	Folo
Hundred	Zato	Zato
Thousand	Arivo	Arivo
Ten thousand	Iray halina	Ray haly
One hundred thousand	Iray hetsy	Ray hetsy
One million	Tapitrisa	Tapitrisa

Animals

English gloss	Malagasy standard gloss	Antesaka gloss
Animal	Biby	Biby
Bird	Vorona	Voro
Duck	Ganagana	Gana
Chicken	Akoho	Akoho
Goose	Gisa	Gisa
Cow	Omby	Aomby
Sheep	Ondry	Ondry

Direction

English gloss	Malagasy standard gloss	Antesaka gloss
North	Avaratra	Avaratry
South	Atsimo	Atsimo
East	Atsinanana	Atsignana
West	Andrefana	Andrefa

Time

English gloss	Malagasy standard gloss	Antesaka gloss
Day	Andro	Andro
Today	Anio/Androany	Androany
Yesterday	Omaly	Omaly
Tomorrow	Rahampitso	Omaray
Month	Volana	Volagny
Year	Taona	Tao

References

1. "Malagasy, Tesaka language resources | Joshua Project".
2. "Language page of Scripture Earth".
3. "Translations — Islands Mission" . Retrieved 2025-07-03.

Bibliography

• Deschamps, Hubert (1952). Le dialecte Antaisaka (langue malgache). Paris: Société d'Éditions Géographiques, Maritimes et Coloniales.