There’s a silly goat song we used to sing as kids: ‘Zvembudzi, zvembudzi, zvandikanganisa.Murume ndebvu, mukadzi ndebvu!Me-e! Zvandikanganisa!’ Loosely translated: ‘Goats, goats, you’ve completely confused … Read more
Recently, a young man reached out, excited to begin his Shona learning journey. He also wanted something specific: a timeline. How long would it take … Read more
O Level students took their History exams over the past few weeks. One of my readers reached out, feeling frustrated after her first paper. One … Read more
Have you ever wondered what your senses would make of a language if they could?If a language could be felt, seen, tasted, or smelled — … Read more
Every dilemma carries a paradox at its heart. If one option were clearly good and the other clearly bad, it wouldn’t feel like much of … Read more
Every parent wants their child to succeed when learning a new language. But here’s the thing: language learning comes with some brutal truths that most … Read more
Learning Shona — or any language — is more than memorising vocabulary and rules. It’s about building the confidence and mental habits that allow you … Read more
When I started helping children learn Shona around 2019, I have to be honest—I was anxious, but I thought it couldn’t be that difficult. After … Read more
In a previous post, I explored the madimikira (idioms) found in the Shona novel Imbwa Nyoro by Renny M. Mumvuma. The use of idioms in … Read more
In a previous post, I shared the similes (fananidzo) and metaphors (enzaniso) that I encountered while reading the Shona novel Imbwa Nyoro, a 1982 novel … Read more