structural:expansion
Vowels

After a stressed syllable, as at the end of most words and in the final two syllables of some, /a, u, i/ are reduced to. (/i/ is spelled ⟨ y ⟩ in such cases, though in monosyllabic words like ny and vy, ⟨ y ⟩ is pronounced as a full.) Final /a/, and sometimes final syllables, are devoiced at the end of an utterance. /e/ and /o/ are never reduced or devoiced. The large number of reduced vowels, and their effect on neighbouring consonants, give Malagasy a phonological quality not unlike that of Portuguese.

/o/ is marginal in Merina dialect, found in interjections and loan words, though it is also found in place names from other dialectical areas. /ai, au/ are diphthongs in careful speech, or in more casual speech. /ai/, whichever way it is pronounced, affects following /k, ɡ/ as /i/ does.