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Shona language

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Template:Short description {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other Template:Infobox Bantu name

Shona (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell;<ref>Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student's Handbook, Edinburgh</ref> Template:Small {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:IPA|main}}) is a Bantu language spoken by the Shona people of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The larger group of historically related languages—called Shona or Shonic languages by linguists—also includes Ndau (Eastern Shona) and Kalanga (Western Shona). In Guthrie's classification of Bantu languages, zone S.10 designates the Shonic group.

Similar languagesEdit

Shona is closely related to Ndau, Kalanga and is related to Tonga, Chewa, Tumbuka, Tsonga and Venda.

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 and Tswana.

InstructionEdit

File:Wikipedia-logo-v2-sn.png
Wikipedia in the Shona language.
File:Iggy teaching Shona.jpg
lang}} ("shirt").

Shona is a written standard language with an orthography and grammar 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. The language is now described through monolingual and bilingual dictionaries (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.

VarietiesEdit

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. 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), Govera.
  • S12 Zezuru (Chizezuru, Bazezuru, Bazuzura, Mazizuru, Vazezuru, Wazezuru). Spoken in Mashonaland east and central Zimbabwe, near Harare. The standard language.
Subdialects: Shawasha, Gova, Mbire, Tsunga, Kachikwakwa, Harava, Nohwe, Njanja, Nobvu, Kwazvimba (Zvimba).
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, spoken in Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and the S13 Manyika language, 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.<ref name="Guthrie"/>

PhonologyEdit

Shona allows only open syllables. Consonants belong to the next syllable. For example, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ("morning") is syllabified as {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. 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.

VowelsEdit

Shona has a simple 5-vowels system: {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. This inventory is quite common cross-linguistically, with similar systems occurring in Greek, Spanish, Tagalog, Swahili and Japanese. Each vowel is pronounced separately even if they fall in succession. For example, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}? ("Where do you go?") is pronounced {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.

ConsonantsEdit

The consonant sounds of Shona are:

Bilabial Labio-
dental 		Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal
plain whistled
Plosive voiceless Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
breathy Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
implosive Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
prenasalized Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Affricate voiceless Template:IPA link Template:IPA link main}} Template:IPA link
breathy Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
prenasalized Template:IPA link
Fricative voiceless Template:IPA link Template:IPA link main}} Template:IPA link
breathy Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
prenasalized Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
Nasal plain Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
breathy Template:IPA link main}} Template:IPA link
Trill Template:IPA link
Approximant Template:IPA link Template:IPA link Template:IPA link

Whistled sibilantsEdit

Template:Expert needed Shona and other languages of Southern and Eastern Africa include whistling sounds, (this should not be confused with whistled speech).

Shona's whistled sibilants are the fricatives "sv" and "zv" and the affricates "tsv" and "dzv".

Sound example translation notes
sv lang}} "shooting stars" "sv" can be represented by S͎, from the Extensions to the International Phonetic Alphabet
lang}} "ants"
tsv lang}} "sweep" (Standard Shona)
svw lang}} "schemer" (Shangwe, Korekore dialect)
zv lang}} "gold nuggets" (Tsunga, Zezuru dialect)
dzv lang}} "he/she was unsuccessful"
zvw lang}} "emotions" (Gova, Korekore dialect)
nzv lang}} "to dodge" (Standard Shona)
zvc lang}} "the Milky Way" Dental clicks. Only found in Ngova, Karanga dialect.
svc lang}} "tortoise"

Whistled sibilants stirred interest among the Western public and media in 2006, due to questions about how to pronounce the name of Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai in Zimbabwe. The BBC Pronunciation Unit recommended the pronunciation "chang-girr-ayi" Template:IPAc-en.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Page needed<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Special charactersEdit

  • ' - 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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, which is the word for a traditional healer.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

AlphabetEdit

  • A - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • B - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • Bh - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • Ch (Č) - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • D - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • Dh (Ď) - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • E - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • F - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • G - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • H - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • I - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • J - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • K - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • M - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • N - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • Nh (Ň) - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • O - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • P - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • R - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • S - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • Sh (Š) - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • T - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • U - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • V - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • Vh - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • W - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • Y - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • Z - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • Zh (Ž) - {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> The letters "L", "Q", and "X" are not used in Shona and are used only in loanwords.

Letter combinationsEdit

File:Book of Mormon - Shona.jpg
Shona version of the Book of Mormon
  • bv - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • dz - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • dzv - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • dy - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • mb - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • mbw - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • mh - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • mv - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • nd - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • ng - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • nj - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • ny - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • nz - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • nzv - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • pf - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • sv - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • sw - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • ts - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • tsv - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • ty - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
  • zv - {{#invoke:IPA|main}}

Old alphabetEdit

From 1931 to 1955, Unified Shona was written with an alphabet developed by linguist Clement Martyn Doke. 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 Template:Angle bracket is used for Template:Angle bracket and Template:Angle bracket is used for Template:Angle bracket.

GrammarEdit

Noun classes ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}})

Shona nouns are grouped by noun class ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) based on:

  1. Meanings ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) e.g. words found in class 1 and 2 describe a person: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ("person") is in {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 1 and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ("girl") is in {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 2.
  2. Prefix ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) e.g. words in class 1 have prefix {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}-, class 8 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}-, class 10 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}-, class 11 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}-, etc. Empty prefix units refer to words that do not require a prefix
  3. Singular and plural forms ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) e.g. words found in class 8 are plurals of class 7: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ("schools") in class 8 is the plural form of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ("school") in class 7.
  4. Agreement ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) e.g. words in class 5 have accordance of the marker -{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}- with pronouns and modifiers: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ("this crocodile"), {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ("this stone"), {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ("this baboon"); {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} means 'this'.
Noun class {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}
("word example") 		Word construction
Prefix+body=word 		English translation
Prefix Body
1 lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "boy"
1a – lang}} lang}} "father"
2 lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "boys"
2a lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "best friend"
2a lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "father-in-law"
2b lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "aunt"
3 lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "tree"
4 lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "trees"
5 lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "scorpion"
6 lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "scorpions"
7 lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "bread"
8 lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "bread"
9 lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "house"
10 lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "houses"
11 lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "river"
12 lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "that little dog"
13 lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "those little dogs"
14 lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "mealie meal"
15 lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "going"
16 lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "home"
17 lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "rural home"
17a – lang}} lang}} "below"
18 lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "in the farm"
19 lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "goat"
21 lang}} lang}} lang}} lang}} "big boy"

Sample text in ShonaEdit

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}

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 alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

BibliographyEdit

  • 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 (1986) Kuverenga Chishóna: an introductory Shona reader with grammatical sketch (2nd edition). London: SOAS.
  • 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 Template:In lang
  • D. Dale:
    • Basic English – Shona dictionary, Afro Asiatic Languages Edition, Sept 5, 2000, Template:ISBN
    • Duramazwi: A Shona - English Dictionary, Afro Asiatic Languages Edition, Sept 5, 2000, Template:ISBN

External linksEdit

Template:Sister project

  • {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}

Template:Languages of Zimbabwe Template:Languages of Mozambique Template:Languages of Zambia Template:Narrow Bantu languages (Zones N–S)

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