Shona ( ; ) 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. By the broader definition, the language is spoken by over 14 million people.

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.

Digraphs

thumb|Shona version of the [[Book of Mormon]]

  • 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. 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:

  1. Meanings () e.g. words found in class 1 and 2 describe a person: ("person") is in 1 and ("girl") is in 2.
  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
  3. 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.
  4. Agreement () e.g. words in class 5 have accordance of the marker -- with pronouns and modifiers: ("this crocodile"), ("this stone"), ("this baboon"); means 'this'.

{| class="wikitable"

!colspan="2" rowspan="2"|Noun class

!rowspan="2"|<br>("word example")

!colspan="2"|Word construction<br>Prefix+body=word

!rowspan="2"|English translation

|-

!Prefix

!Body

|-

|1

|

|

|

|

|"boy"

|-

|1a

| –

|

|

|

|"father"

|-

|2

|

|

|

|

|"boys"

|-

|2a

|

|

|

|

|"best friend"

|-

|2a

|

|

|

|

|"father-in-law"

|-

|2b

|

|

|

|

|"aunt"

|-

|3

|

|

|

|

|"tree"

|-

|4

|

|

|

|

|"trees"

|-

|5

|

|

|

|

|"scorpion"

|-

|6

|

|

|

|

|"scorpions"

|-

|7

|

|

|

|

|"bread"

|-

|8

|

|

|

|

|"bread"

|-

|9

|

|

|

|

|"house"

|-

|10

|

|

|

|

|"houses"

|-

|11

|

|

|

|

|"river"

|-

|12

|

|

|

|

|"that little dog"

|-

|13

|

|

|

|

|"those little dogs"

|-

|14

|

|

|

|

|"mealie meal"

|-

|15

|

|

|

|

|"going"

|-

|16

|

|

|

|

|"home"

|-

|17

|

|

|

|

|"rural home"

|-

|17a

| –

|

|

|

|"below"

|-

|18

|

|

|

|

|"in the farm"

|-

|19

|

|

|

|

|"goat"

|-

|21

|

|

|

|

|"big boy"

|}

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 (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.
  • 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,
  • Pan African Localization report on Shona
  • Example of Shona, Lyrikline.org page on poet Chirikure Chirikure, 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
  • Shona Dictionary Shona Dictionary
  • Mipanda Yemazita Table of Noun Classes