Shona language

Shona
chiShona
Native toZimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi
RegionSouthern Africa
EthnicityShona
Native speakers
6.5 million, Shona proper (2000 to 2007)[1]
5.50 million Zezuru, Karanga, Chimanyika, Korekore (2000)
5.8 million incl. Manyika, (2000–2006)[2]
Dialects
Latin script (Shona alphabet)
Arabic script (formerly)
Shona Braille
Ditema tsa Dinoko
Official status
Official language in
Zimbabwe
Recognised minority
language in
Language codes
ISO 639-1sn
ISO 639-2sna
ISO 639-3Variously:
sna – Zezuru, Karanga, Korekore
twl – Tavara (Korekore)
mxc – Manyika
twx – Tewe (Manyika)
Glottologcore1255  Core Shona
tawa1270  Tawara
S.7–10[3]
Linguasphere99-AUT-a =
List
  • 99-AUT-aa (standardised Shona)+ 99-AUT-ab (chiKorekore incl. varieties -aba to
    -abk)+ 99-AUT-ac (chiZezuru -aca..-ack)+ 99-AUT-ad (north chiManyika -ada..-adk)+ 99-AUT-ae (central chiManyika -aea..-aeg)+ 99-AUT-af (chiKaranga
    -afa..-aff)+ 99-AUT-ag (chiNdau -aga..-age)+ 99-AUT-ah (chiShanga)+ 99-AUT-ai (chiKalanga)+ 99-AUT-aj (chiNambya
    -aja..-ajc)+ 99-AUT-ak (chiLilima -aka..-akf)
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.
PersonMuShona[4]
PeopleVaShona
LanguagechiShona
CountryMaShona

Shona (/ˈʃoʊnə/;[5] Shona: chiShona) is a Bantu language of the Shona people of Zimbabwe. 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 14,000,000 people.[6]

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.

  1. ^ Mikael Parkvall, "Världens 100 största språk 2007" (The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2007), in Nationalencyklopedin
  2. ^ "Ethnologue report for Shona (S.10)". Archived from the original on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  3. ^ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  4. ^ Haberland, Eike (3 May 1974). Perspectives Des Études Africaines Contemporaines: Rapport Final D'un Symposium International. Deutsche UNESCO-Kommission. ISBN 9783794052257 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student's Handbook, Edinburgh
  6. ^ "Shona". Ethnologue.