Shona - Definition and Overview

Shona is a native language of Zimbabwe; the term is also used to identify those Bantu tribes in Southern Africa who speak the Shona language. It is an official language of Zimbabwe, along with Ndebele and English. Shona speakers comprise more than 80% of Zimbabwe's population. Shona is also spoken by a substantial number of residents of Mozambique. Other countries that host Shona language speakers are Zambia and Botswana.

Shona is also a written standard language with a codified orthography and grammar. It is taught in school but is not the general medium of instruction in other subjects. It has a literature and is described through monolingual and bilingual dictionaries (chiefly Shona - English).

History

The archaeological ruins known as "Great Zimbabwe" have been radiocarbon dated to approximately 600 A.D. It is believed that the ancestors of modern day Shona built Great Zimbabwe and hundreds of other stone walled sites in Zimbabwe. It was not until the late 19th century that the peoples speaking several mutually intelligible languages were united under the Shona name.

There are five main language clusters: Korekore, Zezuru, Manyika, Ndau, and Karanga. The last of these groups was largely absorbed by the Ndebele when they moved into western Zimbabwe in the 1830s; some of their descendants are identified today as Kalanga. Shona is linguistically related to central Bantu and Shona speakers most likely moved into present day Zimbabwe during the great Bantu expansion.

See also

• Shona music

External Links

Wikipedia articles written in this language are located at the

Shona language Wikipedia

• Shona - English Dictionary (http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Shona-english/)