Shona
chiShona
Shona is an Atlantic-Congo language spoken in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia, and Botswana, by about 8.3 million people.
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Shona ( SHOH-nə; endonym: chiShona [tʃiʃona]) 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.
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.
From Wikipedia · Shona language · CC BY-SA 4.0
Written down
Vanhu vese vanoberekwa vakasununguka uyewo vakaenzana pahunhu nekodzero dzavo. Vanhu vese vanechipo chokufunga nekuziva chakaipa nechakanaka saka vanofanira kubatana nomweya wohusahwira.
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR in Unicode).
Words in Shona
| Meaning | Word | Romanization |
|---|---|---|
| mother | amai | |
| father | baba | |
| woman | mukadzi | |
| eye | ziso | |
| ear | nzeve | |
| heart | moyo | |
| blood | ropa | |
| liver | chitaka | |
| water | mvura | |
| fire | moto | |
| rain | mvura | |
| snow | chando | |
| wind | mhepo | |
| mountain | gomo | |
| tree | muti | |
| leaf | shizha | |
| night | husiku | |
| dog | imbwá | |
| horse | bhiza | |
| cow | mhóu | |
| one | poshi | |
| tea | tii | |
| coffee | kofi | |
| sugar | shuga | |
| milk | mukaka | |
| egg | zai | |
| hello | mhoro | |
| I love you | Ndinokuda | |
| book | bhuku | |
| red | tsvuku |
Most similar languages
Vocabulary
Vocabulary compares 40 basic words (ASJP); grammar compares 195 features (Grambank). Similar is not always related.
Nearby languages
Elsewhere
Glottolog · shon1251 · Wikipedia (English) · Ethnologue · sna