A version of "Frère Jacques" from the port city of Antsiranana (aka Diego Suarez) in northern Madagascar.

Notes

"Zuki" means oldest brother or sister.

Lala wrote, "I saw the Malagasy version of Frere Jacques, and thought I would send you the spelling of the words that the little girl is singing [in the YouTube below]. This is not in full Malagasy but in what we would call 'vary amin'anana' language which is a mixture of French and Malagasy and with a Malagasy-ized pronunciation of some of the French words ('Vary amin'anana' is a very famous Malagasy dish made of rice and many different types of collard greens).

Zoky Jacques
Zoky Jacques
Mandry ianao?
Mandry ianao?
Sonnez la cloche
Sonnez la cloche
Ding, ding, dong"

Comments

We based the translation on the French version. If anyone can let us know if it's also the literal translation, please email me. Thanks! Mama Lisa

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Thanks and Acknowledgements

Thanks to Lala for sharing the "Vary amin'anana" version!