Mhoro! the first word learned by those who have an interest in the language.
Shona (chiShona) is a southern Bantu language belonging to the Niger-Congo language family. It is spoken by 10.7 million people as a first language and by another 1.8 million people as a second or third language in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi, and Zambia (Ethnologue).
There are three main dialects of Shona. There is a considerable degree of variation within each dialect involving pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. Most dialects are partially intelligible and share most of their vocabulary.
- Hwesa
- Karanga
- Zezuru
Modern Shona is based on the Karanga dialect of Masvingo Province and the Zezuru dialect of central and northern Zimbabwe. This webite will use the Zezuru dialect.
This website provides some basic information for English speakers with any level of interest, especially to people who may want to visit Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi, and/or Zambia.
The following guide will let you try out some basic Shona:
