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Shona ( ; ) is a
Bantu language The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu language, Proto-Bantu: *bantÊŠÌ€), or Ntu languages are a language family of about 600 languages of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern, East Africa, Eastern and Southeast Africa, South ...
spoken by the
Shona people The Shona people () also/formerly known as the Karanga are a Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa, primarily living in Zimbabwe where they form the majority of the population, as well as Mozambique, South Africa, and world ...
of
Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
and
Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...
. The term is variously used to collectively describe all the Central Shonic varieties (comprising Zezuru, Manyika, Korekore and Karanga or Ndau) or specifically Standard Shona, a variety codified in the mid-20th century. Using the broader term, the language is spoken by over 14 million people. The larger group of historically related languages—called Shona or Shonic languages by linguists—also includes Ndau (Eastern Shona) and
Kalanga Kalanga may refer to: * Kalanga people * Kalanga language Kalanga, or TjiKalanga (in Zimbabwe), is a Bantu language spoken by the Kalanga people in Botswana and Zimbabwe which belongs to the Shonic(Shona-Nyai) group of Language. It has an ext ...
(Western Shona). In Guthrie's classification of Bantu languages, zone S.10 designates the Shonic group.


Similar languages

Shona is closely related to Ndau,
Kalanga Kalanga may refer to: * Kalanga people * Kalanga language Kalanga, or TjiKalanga (in Zimbabwe), is a Bantu language spoken by the Kalanga people in Botswana and Zimbabwe which belongs to the Shonic(Shona-Nyai) group of Language. It has an ext ...
and is related to
Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
,
Chewa Chewa may refer to: *the Chewa people *the Chewa language Chewa ( ; also known as Nyanja ) is a Bantu languages, Bantu language spoken in Malawi and a recognised minority in Zambia and Mozambique. The noun class prefix ''chi-'' is used for lang ...
,
Tumbuka Tumbuka may refer to: *Tumbuka people, a Bantu people of eastern Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania **Tumbuka language Chitumbuka (also known as Senga) is a Bantu languages, Bantu language which is spoken primarily in Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, and Zim ...
,
Tsonga Tsonga may refer to: * Tsonga language, a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa * Tsonga people, a large group of people living mainly in southern Mozambique and South Africa. * Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) ...
and
Venda Venda ( ), officially the Republic of Venda (; ), was a Bantustan in northern South Africa. It was fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while, to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black hom ...
. Ndau and Kalanga are former dialects of Shona but became independent languages in 2013 because their grammar is very slightly less similar to those of Manyika, Korekore, and Zezuru. Shona is also similar to
Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language officially used in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes. * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa. * Swahili culture, the culture of the Swahili p ...
and
Tswana Tswana may refer to: * Tswana people, the Bantu languages, Bantu speaking people in Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and other Southern Africa regions * Tswana language, the language spoken by the (Ba)Tswana people * Tswanaland, ...
.


Instruction

Shona is a written standard language with an
orthography An orthography is a set of convention (norm), conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, punctuation, Word#Word boundaries, word boundaries, capitalization, hyphenation, and Emphasis (typography), emphasis. Most national ...
and
grammar In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...
that was codified during the early 20th century and fixed in the 1950s. In the 1920s, the Rhodesian administration was faced with the challenge of preparing schoolbooks and other materials in the various languages and dialects and requested the recommendation of South African linguist
Clement Doke Clement Martyn Doke (16 May 1893 in Bristol, United Kingdom – 24 February 1980 in East London, South Africa) was a South African linguist working mainly on African languages. Realizing that the grammatical structures of Bantu languages are qu ...
. The language is now described through monolingual and bilingual
dictionaries A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged Alphabetical order, alphabetically (or by Semitic root, consonantal root for Semitic languages or radical-and-stroke sorting, radical an ...
(chiefly Shona – English). The first novel in Shona, Solomon Mutswairo's ''Feso'', was published in 1957. Subsequently, hundreds of novels, short story collections and poetry volumes in Shona have appeared. Shona is taught in the schools, but after the first few grades it is not the general medium of instruction for subjects other than Shona grammar and literature.


Varieties

The last systematic study of varieties and sub-varieties of the Central Shona dialect continuum was that done by Clement Doke in 1930, so many sub-varieties are no longer functional and should be treated with caution. According to information from Ethnologue: * S14 Karanga (Chikaranga). Spoken in southern Zimbabwe, near
Masvingo Masvingo, known as Fort Victoria during the colonial period, is a city in southeastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The city lies close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name and clos ...
. It is also mostly spoken in the Midlands province, most notably in Gutu, Masvingo, Mberengwa and Zvishavane districts. Some people refer it as Vhitori. :Subdialects: Duma, Jena, Mhari (Mari), Ngova, Venda (not the
Venda language Venḓa or Tshivenḓa is a Bantu languages, Bantu language and an Languages of South Africa, official language of South Africa and Zimbabwe. It is mainly spoken by the Venda people (or Vhavenḓa) in the northern part of South Africa's Limpop ...
), Govera. * S12 Zezuru (Chizezuru, Bazezuru, Bazuzura, Mazizuru, Vazezuru, Wazezuru). Spoken in
Mashonaland Mashonaland is a region in northeastern Zimbabwe. It is home to nearly half of the population of Zimbabwe. The majority of the Mashonaland people are from the Shona tribe while the Zezuru and Korekore dialects are most common. Harare is the larg ...
east and central Zimbabwe, near
Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...
. The standard language. :Subdialects: Shawasha, Gova, Mbire, Tsunga, Kachikwakwa, Harava, Nohwe, Njanja, Nobvu, Kwazvimba (Zvimba). * S11 Korekore (Northern Shona, Goba, Gova, Shangwe). Spoken in northern Zimbabwe,
Mvurwi Mvurwi, originally known as Umvukwesi, is a town in Mashonaland Central province in Zimbabwe. Some of Mvurwi's schools include Holy Rosary Primary and Secondary School, Mvurwi Primary and High School and Umvukwesi Primary School which is one o ...
,
Bindura Bindura is a city in the province of Mashonaland Central province, Zimbabwe. It is located in the Mazowe Valley about 88 km north-east of Harare. According to the 1982 Population Census, the city had a population of 18,243. This rose to 21, ...
, Mt Darwin, Guruve,
Chiweshe Chiweshe is an African surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Ellen Chiweshe, Zimbabwean Air Force officer * George Chiweshe (born 1953), Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission * Stella Chiweshe (born 1946), Zimbabwean musici ...
,
Centenary A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...
. :Subdialects: Gova, Tande, Tavara, Nyongwe, Pfunde, Shangwe. Languages with partial intelligibility with Central Shona, of which the speakers are considered to be ethnically Shona, are the S15
Ndau language Ndau (also called chiNdau, Chindau, Ndzawu, Njao, Chidanda) is a Bantu language spoken by 1,400,000 people. Ndau is a Shona language and it is mutually intelligible with other Shona languages such as Manyika, Zezuru and Karanga. The 2013 Consti ...
, spoken in Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and the S13
Manyika language Manyika is a Shona language largely spoken by the Manyika tribe in the eastern part of Zimbabwe and across the border in Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by t ...
, spoken in eastern Zimbabwe, near Mutare specifically Chipinge. Ndau literacy material has been introduced into primary schools. Maho (2009) recognizes Korekore, Zezuru, Manyika, Karanga, and Ndau as distinct languages within the Shona cluster.


Phonology

Shona allows only
open syllable A syllable is a basic unit of organization within a sequence of Phone (phonetics), speech sounds, such as within a word, typically defined by linguists as a ''nucleus'' (most often a vowel) with optional sounds before or after that nucleus (''ma ...
s. Consonants belong to the next syllable. For example, ("morning") is syllabified as ; is . Shona is written with a phonemic orthography, with only slightly different pronunciation or grammatical differences according to variety. Shona has two tones, a high and a low tone, but these tones are not indicated in the standard writing system.


Vowels

Shona has a simple 5-
vowels A vowel is a speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract, forming the nucleus of a syllable. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness a ...
system: . This inventory is quite common cross-linguistically, with similar systems occurring in
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
,
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
, Tagalog,
Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language officially used in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes. * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa. * Swahili culture, the culture of the Swahili p ...
and
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
. Each vowel is pronounced separately even if they fall in succession. For example, ? ("Where do you go?") is pronounced .


Consonants

The consonant sounds of Shona are:


Whistled sibilants

Shona and other languages of Southern and Eastern Africa include whistling sounds, (this should not be confused with
whistled speech Whistled speech is a form of speech surrogacy in which whistling is used to mimic speech. Speakers of more than 80 languages have been found to practice various degrees of whistled speech, most of them in rugged topography or dense forests, wher ...
). Shona's whistled sibilants are the
fricative A fricative is a consonant produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate in ...
s "sv" and "zv" and the
affricate An affricate is a consonant that begins as a stop and releases as a fricative, generally with the same place of articulation (most often coronal). It is often difficult to decide if a stop and fricative form a single phoneme or a consonant pai ...
s "tsv" and "dzv". Whistled sibilants stirred interest among the Western public and media in 2006, due to questions about how to pronounce the name of
Morgan Tsvangirai Morgan Richard Tsvangirai (; ; 10 March 1952 – 14 February 2018) was a Zimbabwean politician who was Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013. He was president of the Movement for Democratic Change, and later the Movement for Democrati ...
, the leader of the
Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai The Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC–T) is a Centre-left politics, centre-left political party and was the main opposition party in the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe ahead of the 2018 elections. After the split of the origin ...
in Zimbabwe. The
BBC Pronunciation Unit The BBC Pronunciation Unit, also known as the BBC Pronunciation Research Unit, is an arm of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) comprising linguists ( phoneticians) whose role is "to research and advise on the pronunciation of any words, na ...
recommended the pronunciation "chang-girr-ayi" .


Special characters

*' - the apostrophe can be used after the character "n" to create a sound similar to the "-ng" from the English word "ping". An example word is , which is the word for a traditional healer.


Alphabet

* A - - * B - - * Bh - - * Ch (Č) - - * D - - * Dh (Ď) - - * E - - * F - - * G - - * H - - * I - - * J - - * K - - * M - - * N - - * Nh (Ň) - - * O - - * P - - * R - - * S - - * Sh (Š) - - * T - - * U - - * V - - * Vh - - * W - - * Y - - * Z - - * Zh (Ž) - - The letters "L", "Q", and "X" are not used in Shona and are used only in loanwords.


Letter combinations

* bv - * dz - * dzv - * dy - * mb - * mbw - * mh - * mv - * nd - * ng - * nj - * ny - * nz - * nzv - * pf - * sv - * sw - * ts - * tsv - * ty - * zv -


Old alphabet

From 1931 to 1955, Unified Shona was written with an alphabet developed by linguist
Clement Martyn Doke Clement Martyn Doke (16 May 1893 in Bristol, United Kingdom – 24 February 1980 in East London, South Africa) was a South African linguist working mainly on African languages. Realizing that the grammatical structures of Bantu languages are qu ...
. This included these letters: : ɓ (b with hook), : ɗ (d with hook), : ŋ (n with leg), : ȿ (s with swash tail), : ʋ (v with hook), : ɀ (z with swash tail). In 1955, these were replaced by letters or digraphs from the basic Latin alphabet. For example, today is used for and is used for .


Grammar

Noun classes () Shona nouns are grouped by noun class () based on: # Meanings () e.g. words found in class 1 and 2 describe a person: ("person") is in 1 and ("girl") is in 2. # Prefix () e.g. words in class 1 have prefix -, class 8 -, class 10 -, class 11 -, etc. Empty prefix units refer to words that do not require a prefix # Singular and plural forms () e.g. words found in class 8 are plurals of class 7: ("schools") in class 8 is the plural form of ("school") in class 7. # Agreement () e.g. words in class 5 have accordance of the marker -- with pronouns and modifiers: ("this crocodile"), ("this stone"), ("this baboon"); means 'this'.


Sample text in Shona

Translation All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. ''(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)''


See also

* Shona calendar


References


Bibliography

* Biehler, E. (1950) ''A Shona dictionary with an outline Shona grammar'' (revised edition). The Jesuit Fathers. * Brauner, Sigmund (1995) ''A grammatical sketch of Shona : including historical notes''. Köln: Rüdiger Koppe. *
Carter, Hazel Joan Hazel Carter (22 February 1928 – 3 August 2016) was a British-American linguist, known in particular for her work on the Bantu languages, Shona, Kongo and Tonga. Born on 22 February 1928 to Charles and Constance Wilkinson, Carter graduat ...
(1986) ''Kuverenga Chishóna: an introductory Shona reader with grammatical sketch'' (2nd edition). London:
SOAS The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...
. * Doke, Clement M. (1931) ''Report on the unification of the Shona dialects''. Stephen Austin Sons. * Fortune, George (1985). ''Shona Grammatical Constructions Vol 1''. Mercury Press. * Mutasa, David (1996) ''The problems of standardizing spoken dialects: the Shona experience'', ''Language Matters'', 27, 79 * Lafon, Michel (1995), ''Le shona et les shonas du Zimbabwe'', Harmattan éd., Paris * D. Dale: ** ''Basic English – Shona dictionary'', Afro Asiatic Languages Edition, Sept 5, 2000, ** ''Duramazwi: A Shona - English Dictionary'', Afro Asiatic Languages Edition, Sept 5, 2000,


External links

*
Pan African Localization
report on Shona
Example of Shona
Lyrikline.org page on poet
Chirikure Chirikure Chirikure Chirikure (born 1962), is a Zimbabwean poet, songwriter, and writer. He is a graduate of the University of Zimbabwe and an Honorary Fellow of University of Iowa, US. He worked with one of Zimbabwe's leading publishing houses as an edito ...
, with audio and translations into English.
Basic Shona language course (book + audio files)
USA Foreign Service Institute (FSI)
Biblical study material in Shona language
(publications, video and audio files
online bible
by
Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

Shona Dictionary
Shona Dictionary

Table of Noun Classes {{DEFAULTSORT:Shona language Shona languages Languages of Botswana Languages of Mozambique Languages of Zambia Languages of Zimbabwe Languages of South Africa