Editing Languages of Africa (section)

====Austronesian====
[[Malagasy language|Malagasy]] belongs to the [[Austronesian languages]] and is the westernmost branch of the family. It is the national and co-official language of [[Madagascar]], and a Malagasy dialect called [[Bushi language|Bushi]] is also spoken in [[Mayotte]].
 	
The ancestors of the Malagasy people migrated to Madagascar around 1,500 years ago from Southeast Asia, more specifically the island of Borneo. The origins of how they arrived to Madagascar remains a mystery, however the Austronesians are known for their seafaring culture. Despite the geographical isolation, Malagasy still has strong resemblance to [[Barito languages]] especially the [[Ma'anyan language]] of southern Borneo. 

With more than 20 million speakers, Malagasy is one of the most widely spoken of the Austronesian languages.