Shona Language

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

A simple Shona tutoring venture that wasn’t so simple When I started helping children with Shona around 2019, I have to be honest—I was anxious, … 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

Ever since I took on my first learner back in 2019, Shona learning has become a subject dear to me. I believe proficiency in more … Read more

This post was last updated on 12 January 2025. Adverbs Adverbs are words that modify or describe words such as verbs, adjectives, clauses, sentences, and … Read more

Tsumo on work tell a story of a hard-working society, and give the picture that agriculture was the mainstay of the economy of the Shona … Read more

In lay terms, ideophones are words that stand out (are ‘marked’) and whose form betrays something of (is depictive of) their meaning. The following 70 … Read more

This post was last updated on 28 August 2025. Culture and language are inextricably intertwined. Over the past few years, I’ve spent considerable time researching … Read more

It is common knowledge that a few Shona words have an Afrikaans influence. I recently came across one that I found surprising, leading me to … Read more

Over the past few months, I have taken time to analyse over 200 Shona proverbs, just out of interest. Some of them have motivated me … Read more