Communiversity

Lesson 1:

Pronunciation (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson1.htm#pron)

Greetings (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson1.htm#greet)

Introductions (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson1.htm#intro)

This is a very basic introduction: if you are in Zimbabwe the best bet        is a little booklet called 'Fambai Zvakanaka muZimbabwe', available        for about the equivalent of 50p in most bookshops. Shona, or chiShona, is        spoken as a first language by over 9 million people in Zimbabwe (the other        main language is Ndebele.) Although there are various regional dialects,        it is one language, and most people have no problem understanding other        dialects. 'My' version is a bit of a mish-mash, including textbook grammar,        Harare and Guruve words, and some modern 'slang'. It works for me!

         

PRONUNCIATION

top of page (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson1.htm#top)

      This is pretty phonetic and straightforward. The only funny sounds are          explained in the table below.        
       
[TH]Spelling[/TH]
           [TH]Pronunciation[/TH]
         

-dy-	said like '-jig-' or '-jg-' so 'kudya' is pronounced 'kujga'
-ty-	'-chik-' or -'chk-' so 'mbatya' is pronounced 'mbachka'
-mbw-	sometimes sounds like '-mbugg-' so 'imbwa' is pronounced 'imbugga'
-zv-	sort of like 'je' in French, but a bit whistly
-sv-	a whistly version of 'sh'
-sw-	like '-skw-' so 'ndaswera' is pronounced 'ndaskwera'
-vh-	like v in'velvet'
-v-	sort of in between an English v and w

      In general Shona is spoken at the front of the mouth - you'll see what          I mean!      
       

GREETINGS

top          of page (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson1.htm#top)

      These are very important in Shona society, and not surprisingly, there          are lots, but don't worry: just choose one or two 'general' ones to start          with. Note that most greetings take the form of a set exchange of statements,          but nowadays these are often abbreviated or mixed up, so don't get too          tied up.        
General Greetings:
        Used to those you already know quite well, or people you meet in passing,          eg at a shop, or waving from a truck. There are lots of combinations.          The letters in brackets are added to show respect: use them until you          know someone, unless they're a child: a bit like French 'vous'.        
       
[TH]First speaker says...[/TH]
           [TH]Second speaker replies...[/TH]
           [TH]Meaning[/TH]
         

Kanjan/ kanjani	Kanjan/ kanjani	Hi there
(M)uri rayiti? OR (M)uribho here?	Ndiri rayiti OR ndiripo	How are you? I'm fine.
Mhoro(i)	Mhoro(i)	Hi/how are you?

      Polite Greetings:
        These can make a good impression if used in a formal meeting, especially          with a 'senior' person, such as an elder, or someone whose home you are          visiting.      
       
[TH]First speaker says...[/TH]
           [TH]Second speaker replies...[/TH]
           [TH]Meaning[/TH]
         

Tikukwazisei	Kwaziwai	May I greet you/ greetings

      Time greetings:
        These are confusing at first, but widely used in both polite and less          formal situations. They take the form of two or three 'steps' of which          many are often skipped, as you'll learn.
        In the morning, up till about 11am, you say:      
       
[TH]First Speaker...[/TH]
           [TH] Second Speaker...[/TH]
           [TH]Meaning[/TH]
         

Step 1. Mangwanani	Mangwanani, Marara sei?	Good morning/ good morning, did you sleep well?
Step 2. Ndarara (kana) Mararawo	Ndarara	I slept well if you did/ I did sleep well

       From about 11am till about 4pm (when the sun begins to cool off), you          say:      
       
[TH]First Speaker...[/TH]
           [TH] Second Speaker...[/TH]
           [TH]Meaning[/TH]
         

Step 1. Masikati	Masikati, maswera sei?	Afternoon/afternoon, had a good day?
Step 2. Ndaswera maswerawo	Ndaswera.	I did if you did/ I did.

      In the evening, you say the same as above, but simply replace 'masikati'          meaning 'good afternoon' with 'manheru' meaning 'good evening'.          Before going to bed, you can say 'Tonana mangwana' - 'we'll see each other          tomorrow'. A very important action which accompanies this is hand-clapping:          flat hands for men, cupped hands for women. Obviously if your hands are          full don't bother, but if your mouth is full, you are out of earshot,          or in a hurry, a few quick claps can show what you mean - they also mean          thankyou. Finally, shaking (right) hands is very important, though          its more a grasp than a shake. If your hands are full, profer your forearm.          In the rural areas many people still put their left hand under their right          elbow when shaking hands - another way of showing respect. Also, it's          polite to receive any gift, however small, with both hands together.      
       
       

INTRODUCTIONS

top          of page (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson1.htm#top)

       Pretty simple, choose one variation to start with.      
[TH]Phrase...[/TH]
           [TH]Meaning[/TH]
         

(M)unonzani? OR Zita renyu ndiani?	What's your name?
Ndinonzi... OR Zita rangu i.....	My name is.....
Ndiani?	Who is it?
Ndini....	I am...

       Goodbyes:
        Can be accompanied by clapping and waving.      
       
[TH]Phrase...[/TH]
           [TH]Meaning[/TH]
         

Fambai zvakanaka	Go well (said by person staying)
Sarai zvakanaka	Stay well (said by person going)

      Thankyous:
        These are very important. There isn't really a word for 'please',          as its contained in the politeness of the request, but there are lots          of ways of saying thanks, again with claps.        
       
[TH]Phrase...[/TH]
           [TH]Meaning[/TH]
         

Tatenda OR Tinotenda OR Ndatenda	Thankyou ( a general word)
Mazviita OR Maita basa OR Maita zvenyu	Thankyou (for doing a task)

      Finally, a very useful word is 'shamwari' which means 'friend, mate,          pal'. You can add it to just about all of the words and phrases above,          where it would seem right in English. Try it and see!

Lesson 2:

Sentences (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson2.htm#sentence)

Vocabulary (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson2.htm#vocab)

Exercise (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson2.htm#ex1)

   

SIMPLE SENTENCES             top          of page (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson2.htm#top)                              The key thing to understand about this is the verbs, which unlike English          add pronouns, objects, tense and adverbs into one long word which seems          unpronounceable. However the rules for doing this are very straightforward.               1. All verbs in shona start from a stem, which ends in'a'. For          the examples which follow, I'll use the stem 'enda' which means 'go'.          If you say it on its own it's an order, so don't use it like this except          for children: for adults add an 'I' to the end: 'endai'. From now on I'll          write the stem in capitals,so you don't get it mixed up with the other          parts of the verb, but you say it as normal.                2. Next, by putting 'ku' in front of the stem we get an infinitive and          a participle, so:        kuENDA means going or to go.        3. All we need to make a sentence is the word 'ndiri' which means'I          am (doing something)'        So... ndiri kuENDA means I am going.                To use other verbs just use the stems at the bottom of this page,so          'ndiri kuCHERA' means 'I am digging'.                  4. To change the 'person' who is doing something just use the personal          pronouns at the bottom plus '-ri': so:                Tiri kuENDA means we are going, ari kuENDA means he/she is          going.         5. Now you can add an 'object' to the sentence. This is pretty similar          to English: some verbs take a 'direct' object, others need to use a preposition          (see list). So...          Ndiri kuTAKURA badza......I am carrying the hoe. A direct          object.        Ndiri kuENDA kuGuruve.....I am going to Guruve.          An indirect object. 6. Try making a few sentences: don't worry if you're not sure exactly          which prepositions to use: people will get the idea.                     VOCABULARY             top          of page (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson2.htm#top)                            Some verb stems:       -enda...go -takura...carry -tora...bring, take -chera...dig (hole) -famba...walk, go -tenga...buy -ona...look, see -taura...speak -gara...sit,stay                Personal pronouns:         Ndi-...I u-...you a-...he or she Ti-...we mu-...you (plural) va-...they                  Prepositions: there are three main ones, each of which has quite          a variety of meanings, so keep your ears open to see how they are used.         ku...to, from pa...on, around, by mu...in       There is also 'na', which can mean 'with'. Both pa and na are          sometimes said 'pe' or 'po' depending on the word that follows: this can          be confusing, so listen! Nouns:         badza... hoe musika... market bhazi... bus bhegi...bag miriwo...vegetables nyika...land, country, world                                   EXERCISE 1: Translate the following                - solutions here  (http://www.shonalanguage.info/solutions.htm)(or              click ? to see answer)                           top          of page (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson2.htm#top)                                 '" n".self::process_list_items("'.str_replace(' ', '', '                  Ari kuenda ku musika                  Tiri kutenga miriwo                  Vari kuchera                 You are walking                 I am going by bus                 Take the bag ').'")."n[/list type=decimal]"'             (https://www.abibitumikasa.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shonalanguage.info%2Fquestion.gif&hash=c73ec81b72f2e4a4d5dcf93deee067cb5def2bf9) (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson2.htm#ex1)(https://www.abibitumikasa.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shonalanguage.info%2Fquestion.gif&hash=c73ec81b72f2e4a4d5dcf93deee067cb5def2bf9) (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson2.htm#ex1)(https://www.abibitumikasa.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shonalanguage.info%2Fquestion.gif&hash=c73ec81b72f2e4a4d5dcf93deee067cb5def2bf9) (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson2.htm#ex1)(https://www.abibitumikasa.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shonalanguage.info%2Fquestion.gif&hash=c73ec81b72f2e4a4d5dcf93deee067cb5def2bf9) (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson2.htm#ex1)(https://www.abibitumikasa.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shonalanguage.info%2Fquestion.gif&hash=c73ec81b72f2e4a4d5dcf93deee067cb5def2bf9) (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson2.htm#ex1)(https://www.abibitumikasa.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shonalanguage.info%2Fquestion.gif&hash=c73ec81b72f2e4a4d5dcf93deee067cb5def2bf9) (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson2.htm#ex1)

Lesson 3:

More sentences (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson3.htm#moresent)

Negatives (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson3.htm#neg)

Exercise (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson3.htm#ex2)

Vocabulary (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson3.htm#vocab)

   

MORE SENTENCES             top          of page (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson3.htm#top)                      1. Now you'll learn how to use other tenses. These use the form of:        Personal pronoun + tense indicator + stem. You already know about pronouns          and stems. The tense indicators are:          -no-...present -cha-...future -ka-...past (before today).        So: ndichaENDA...I will go. ndinoENDA...I          go (regularly). ndakaENDA...I went                  Notice that the last vowel of the pronoun changes to an 'a' if it is          not already for the past tense. I have listed these 'past pronouns'at          the bottom. They are very important as they can be used to make one of          the simplest and most useful tenses of all, what I call the 'today past'.          This is formed by adding the 'past pronoun' to the stem: so:        ndaENDA...I dug (today) ndaPEDZA...I've finished          (today)        2. Here are some examples: read and understand them to get the hang          of how things work. New vocabulary is at the bottom of this page.        NdichaTENGA miriwo...I will buy vegetables.          aFAMBA ku chikoro...he walked to school.                  TinoBVA kuScotland...we come from Scotland.          VakaGARA pa moto...they sat by the fire.        3. Now we can change the subject of our sentences, instead of just saying          'I, they' etc.          This is easily done by just putting the word for the subject in front          of a verb in the correct form.        vana vaENDA kuchikoro...the children went to school.          John ari kuSHANDA...John is working.        4. However, be careful of doing this for things other than people: they          use other pronouns which we'll get to later!        5. We can combine all the things we know to make longer sentences, e.g.....        TichaTENGA miriwo mu/pa musika...We'll buy vegetables in/at the          market          vakadzi vari kuSENZA mu munda...the women are working in the garden.                  6. Some other useful things... To say 'I want....' Use          'ndinoDA' + object, e.g...        ndinoDA miriwo...I want (some) vegetables (though a more polite          way is to say 'ndipei' miriwo'...'please give me (some) vegetables')                  To say 'I want to ....' use 'ndinoDA' + infinitive, e.g...                  ndinoDA kuENDA...I want to go.          ndinoDA kuFUNDA chiShona...I want to learn Shona.        You can use the stem 'DA' like others in the present tense:          anoDA kuBATSIRA...he wants to help.        To say 'I have/ I've got' use the stem '-ne', so ndine badza...I've          got a/the hoe                  In the negative its like any other verb, but the last vowel changes          to 'a', eg. 'handina'...'I don't have' NEGATIVES             top          of page (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson3.htm#top)                      These are quite simple: 'ha' + pronoun + stem, e.g. handiende...I          don't go. Notice that the last letter changes to an e or an i. You          can also say handisi kuENDA...I'm not going. See below.          The negative of 'ndinoda' is 'handidi', and can be used in the same          way, eg:        'handidi kuTENGA'...I don't want to buy                  Finally, the negative past is the negative of 'have' ('ha' + pronoun          + 'na') followed by infinitive, e.g.        havana kuENDA...they didn't go.                      Finally, a very useful word is 'shamwari' which means 'friend, mate,        pal'. You can add it to just about all of the words and phrases above,        where it would seem right in English. Try it and see!        That's about it. To finish off there is another exercise and some useful          vocabulary below.                         EXERCISE 2: Translate into English             solutions here (http://www.shonalanguage.info/solutions.htm) (or              click ? to see answer) 1. Tinoda kubatsira              (https://www.abibitumikasa.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shonalanguage.info%2Fquestion.gif&hash=c73ec81b72f2e4a4d5dcf93deee067cb5def2bf9) (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson3.htm#ex2) 4. Munofanira kutema mapango.              (https://www.abibitumikasa.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shonalanguage.info%2Fquestion.gif&hash=c73ec81b72f2e4a4d5dcf93deee067cb5def2bf9) (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson3.htm#ex2) 2. Vana vari kuuya rini?              (https://www.abibitumikasa.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shonalanguage.info%2Fquestion.gif&hash=c73ec81b72f2e4a4d5dcf93deee067cb5def2bf9) (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson3.htm#ex2)             5. Hatigone kuchera kuno              nokuti kune matombo. (https://www.abibitumikasa.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shonalanguage.info%2Fquestion.gif&hash=c73ec81b72f2e4a4d5dcf93deee067cb5def2bf9) (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson3.htm#ex2) 3. Mapedza here?              (https://www.abibitumikasa.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shonalanguage.info%2Fquestion.gif&hash=c73ec81b72f2e4a4d5dcf93deee067cb5def2bf9) (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson3.htm#ex2) 6. Ndinogona kutaura chiShona              zvishoma chete. (https://www.abibitumikasa.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shonalanguage.info%2Fquestion.gif&hash=c73ec81b72f2e4a4d5dcf93deee067cb5def2bf9) (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson3.htm#ex2)               VOCABULARY             top          of page (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson3.htm#top)                           bango(mapango)...pole banga(mapanga)... knife sando...hammer demo...axe gomba(makomba)...hole pinjis...pliers rwizi, rukova...river dombo(matombo)...stone, rock muti(miti)...tree muriwo(miriwo)... vegetable chibage...mealies(maize) fenzi...fence mombe... cattle(one or many) tsotsi, mbavha, mambara... thief, hood, wide boy             (ma)zai...egg(s) mbudzi...goat(s) imba...house bhasikoro...bicycle Mukomana...boy Musikana...girl munda(minda)...garden, agricultural plot Mukoma...brother(of a boy), sister (of a girl) Hanzvadzi...sister (of a boy), brother (of a girl)       Useful phrases kune/hakuna (or hapana)... there are/there              aren't handei!...let's go! Tipfuurei?...may we pass through?             Tipindei?...may we come in? gogogoi...knock knock! Nokuti...because Rini?...when? Chenjerai!...watch out! inguvaii?...what's the              time? Ndaguta...I'm full              (say this, even when you aren't, when you've              finished eating - its polite)        Verbs                         -bva...come from -vaka...build -takura...carry -gona...be able -fanira...have to -mira...stop, wait -pedza, pera...finish -bata...grab, hold -guta...to be full -dya...eat -nwa...drink -neta...be tired -chengeta, tarisa... look after -ona..see, look -nzwa...hear, understand -tema...cut (down) -bika...cook -batsira...help -da...want, like, love -rima...dig (a garden), plough        Adjectives & Adverbs                         zvishoma...a little zvikuru, sterek, maningi...a lot chete...only pamwe...together kadiki...small huru, hombe...big kurumidza...quickly pamwe chete... maybe

Lesson 4:

Possessives & Concords (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson4.htm#possessives)

Exercise (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson4.htm#ex3)

               
        Lesson 4 - Who does it belong to?
       This lesson is about one of the most important          things in any language - possessives!
        This means how to say 'mine' or 'yours', 'of' etc, whether in a colloquial          or ownership sense. It also brings in an idea you might have noticed already:          that nouns can affect the words around them.
       Let's start with an example in English. Compare the two phrases:
             

my mother

my hoe

          In English the word 'my' is the same whatever word it is referring to.          However in Shona things are a bit different: we would say the above as:      

my mother - amai vangu

my hoe - badza rangu

      You can see that the word for 'mine' is almost the same in both phrases:          but the start is different.  These 'starting letters' are called          concords. Each kind, or group, of nouns is Shona has its own concord.           Basically, there is no way to avoid simply learning which concords go          with which nouns, but the task is not as difficult as it sounds.
       Firstly, many nouns have concords which are very similar to the          start of the noun, for instance:
        my children - vana vangu
       We will see more of this later.
       Secondly, nouns in the same group tend to be a similar kind of          thing in real life: for instance almost all nouns for people are in the          same group, while most plants are in another group.  So if you don't          know or can't remember the right concord, you can often make a fair guess.        
       Finally, if you get it wrong people will probably still understand          you, and probably be happy to correct you if you ask.
       Anyway, once you have the right concord, you have to add it to the right          possessive 'stem': like you have already been adding prefixes to noun          stems.  The stems are:    
       

My...         -ngu	Our...     -du
Yours...       -ko	Yours (plural)...     -nyu
His/her/its...     -ke	Their...     -vo

      Putting these into practice, we would get:  
       

my mother...       amai vangu	our mother...   amai vedu
your mother...     amai vako	your (plural) mother...   amai venyu
his/her mother...  amai vake	their mother...     amai  vavo

      So now we need to learn some concords for the nouns we already know.           Altogether in Shona, there are 20 different noun groups, each with their          own concord.  Luckily this isn't so scary as it seems: some of the          groups are not used very regularly, and almost all of the groups go in          pairs, where one is the plural of the other.   For now I will          concentrate on 3 very commonly used noun groups.
       In the table below I will put more details than you need to know just          now, as they may be helpful for your own further learning.  The noun          group number is irrelevant for speaking, but useful for looking up grammar          books and some dictionaries.  The verb concord is added to the start          of a verb stem, but I will not deal with this here.  
       

Group No.	Used for	Concord	Verb concord	Example
1	People (singular)	wa-	a-	mwana wangu (my child)
2	Plural of group 1, also respect	va-	va-	vana vako (your children)
3	Plants (singular)	wa-	u-	muti wake (his tree)
4	Plural of group 4	ya-	i-	miriwo yedu (our vegetables)
9	Some animals, objects (esp. modern things)               (singular)	ya-	i-	mbudzi yavo (their goat)
10	Plural of group 9	dza-	dzi-	dzimba dzangu (my houses)

Here are some more examples:  
       
         
In this last case, the 'kw- ' of  'kwangu' goes with the 'ku-' of          'kuenda': another concord which is used sometimes.  Its hard to know          when to use it so just listen to people and learn.
       
top          of page (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson4.htm#top)

                       

EXERCISE 3: Translate	solutions here (http://www.shonalanguage.info/solutions.htm#ex3) (or              click ? to see answer)
1. Mbudzi dzangu.              (https://www.abibitumikasa.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shonalanguage.info%2Fquestion.gif&hash=c73ec81b72f2e4a4d5dcf93deee067cb5def2bf9) (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson4.htm#ex3)	5. Tatenda is cooking his vegetables.           (https://www.abibitumikasa.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shonalanguage.info%2Fquestion.gif&hash=c73ec81b72f2e4a4d5dcf93deee067cb5def2bf9) (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson4.htm#ex3)
2. Vana vedu. (https://www.abibitumikasa.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shonalanguage.info%2Fquestion.gif&hash=c73ec81b72f2e4a4d5dcf93deee067cb5def2bf9) (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson4.htm#ex3)	6. The girls are going home.               (https://www.abibitumikasa.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shonalanguage.info%2Fquestion.gif&hash=c73ec81b72f2e4a4d5dcf93deee067cb5def2bf9) (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson4.htm#ex3)
3. Ndiri kutema miti yavo.              (https://www.abibitumikasa.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shonalanguage.info%2Fquestion.gif&hash=c73ec81b72f2e4a4d5dcf93deee067cb5def2bf9) (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson4.htm#ex3)	7. Can you help my brother?              (https://www.abibitumikasa.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shonalanguage.info%2Fquestion.gif&hash=c73ec81b72f2e4a4d5dcf93deee067cb5def2bf9) (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson4.htm#ex3)
4. Edson ari kurima munda wangu. (https://www.abibitumikasa.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shonalanguage.info%2Fquestion.gif&hash=c73ec81b72f2e4a4d5dcf93deee067cb5def2bf9) (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson4.htm#ex3)	8. Where are your (plural) friends? (https://www.abibitumikasa.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shonalanguage.info%2Fquestion.gif&hash=c73ec81b72f2e4a4d5dcf93deee067cb5def2bf9) (http://www.shonalanguage.info/lesson4.htm#ex3)