Mahafaly dialect

Mahafaly is a dialect of the Malagasy language spoken by the Mahafaly people in the Atsimo-Andrefana region of southwestern Madagascar.

Classification

Mahafaly belongs to the Austronesian languages family under the Malayo-Polynesian languages branch, within the Barito languages group. It is classified as a Southern Malagasic dialect alongside Southern Sakalava,Tandroy, Vezo, Masikoro and Karimbola.

Geographic distribution

Mahafaly is spoken by approximately 472,000 people in the arid southwest of Madagascar, mainly in the Atsimo-Andrefana region.