Introductory Shona Language-gctid46924

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

Introductory Shona          Language Available from: Introductory Shona Language

 

Lesson 1:

Pronunciation

Greetings

Introductions

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               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               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               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!

SIMPLE SENTENCES             top          of page               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                     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 (or              click ? to see answer)                           top          of page                           '" 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]"'

MORE SENTENCES             top          of page               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               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 (or              click ? to see answer) 1. Tinoda kubatsira               4. Munofanira kutema mapango.               2. Vana vari kuuya rini?                           5. Hatigone kuchera kuno              nokuti kune matombo. 3. Mapedza here?               6. Ndinogona kutaura chiShona              zvishoma chete.       VOCABULARY             top          of page                     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 - 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:           Shona English Amai vangu vanogara Harare My mother lives in Harare Tiri kudya miriwo yedu We are eating our vegetables Anoda badza rake He wants his hoe. BUT: ndiri kuenda kumba kwangu I'm going home (I'm going to my house). 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                 EXERCISE 3: Translate solutions here (or              click ? to see answer) 1. Mbudzi dzangu.               5. Tatenda is cooking his vegetables.               2. Vana vedu.             6. The girls are going home.               3. Ndiri kutema miti yavo.               7. Can you help my brother?               4. Edson ari kurima munda wangu. 8. Where are your (plural) friends?

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

There are three sections: Internet, Printed, and Other          (eg audio and courses).
        I have limited this to resources I have tried myself or which someone          else has commented on.
        Please keep up the suggestions coming.  Reviews of books especially          are welcome.
       

Internet

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Ethnologue              Checked 4/12/04	A great online language database with              details about where languages and their dialects are spoken, and by              who.
Human              Languages Page                Checked 4/12/04	This site doesn't have anything for Shona              but has a lot of useful sites for other languages.
Martin Shumba's Shona Language                Checked 4/12/04	A small but growing Shona page which includes a searchable dictionary.
'Online'              Shona Dictionary              Checked 4/12/04	This is part of a large site              with dictionaries of all languages. It has an MS-Word or plain text              version of Hannan's 'Standard Shona Dictionary' (see below) available              for download - cumbersome but useful. Unfortunately the download is              only of the first half of the dictionary, up to 'M'.
Shona                verb conjugator              Checked 4/12/04	A free service - type in a Shona verb              stem (such as 'enda') and it will go through all the main tenses,              as well as suggesting english translations. A good way to check your              grammar.             Note: the site prompts you to 'fill in the infinitive' (such as 'kuenda')              - this is incorrect, it means fill in the stem (such as 'enda').
WorldLanguage.com              Checked 4/12/04	This is the shona section of a commercial              site retailing language products and services. It has a sample piece              of shona text and describes the courses and software it sells. If              anyone tries these out, please let me know what you think of them.
Yale              Kmt Guide Interactive              Checked 4/12/04	This is part of a wide-ranging travel              guide site. So far it only has a few links.
Duramazwi RechiShona              Checked 4/12/04	An online Shona-Shona dictionary.  That is, the explanations for shona words,           given in Shona.
Nyarai.com - Shona Vocabulary Online              Checked 4/12/04	Innovative vocabulary tutor -  each day it randomly provides a set of nouns, verbs, adjectives etc for  you to learn.  Then there is the opportunity to take an online test on  what you have just learnt.

     

Printed

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I have stuck to in print books here, but there are several good out-of-print          ones: snap them up if you come across them.  Many are only easily          available within Zimbabwe but it may be worth requesting a local bookshop          to try and order them from the Zim publishers - although given the continuing          chaotic state of the Zimbabwean economy and the political turmoil (despite          the hope for the future suggested by the opposition's strong showing in          the elections) they may have other things on their minds at the moment.
       
If you live in the UK the Kmt          Book Centre in ukkk has most of the titles below. If you don't          live in the UK, they should be able to post your order to you. Their website          doesn't have much on it but you can request a booklist by email:

       

email:	info@Kmtbookcentre.com
postal address:	Kmt Book Centre, 38 King Street, ukkk WC2E 8JT, United Kingdom

                       

Learning Shona             Dambudzo Ruzhowa             Available online	A good, simple introduction.  Not as comprehensive as the Mawadza book                but explains concepts in a more step-by-step fashion.
Shona              Dictionary and Phrasebook             Aquilina Mawadza, May 2000             Available online             ISBN: 0781808138	This is the first book I have come across that should be readily                available outside of Zimbabwe. It contains a dense but quite comprehensive                grammar as well as modern vocabulary.               Full title: Shona-English/English-Shona Dictionary and Phrasebook                : A Language of Zimbabwe Chishona Dialect
Shona Mini - Companion             Desmond Dale                                 Zim only	This is a small but quite comprehensive              introductory text.  It covers a lot of grammar but is not very              user-friendly: it would be useful as a reference if you were in Zim              and could practise what you read in it.
Shona Companion             Desmond Dale               I have seen this in UK bookstores	A larger 'sequel' to the above book. It              is pretty comprehensive.  I would not recommend it as an introductory              text: it might scare you off!  But if you already know another              Bantu language (eg Swahili, Zulu) it might not be so bad.
Fambai Zvakanaka muZimbabwe                           (Have a nice day in Zimbabwe)             I have seen this in UK bookstores	An excellent 'quick-start' to the language              which brings in useful phrases from the start, without ignoring grammar.               This little booklet is very cheap and a must-buy if you are in Zimbabwe              for any length of time.  Pity its not available elsewhere.
Standard Shona Dictionary               M. Hannan                 May be out of print	The most comprehensive Shona-English dictionary              I know of.  An 'online' version is available (see 'Internet'              section above). But its rather out-of-date and far too big to lug              around if you are travelling.  For that, see below.
Shona-English Dictionary             D. Dale, 1981               Zim only	Cheap and light, though not totally up-to-date,              this dictionary has useful illustrations and example uses of words.              Proper title: Dura Mazwi
English-Shona Dictionary             D. Dale, 1975             Zim only	Companion to the above, separate volume,              in similar format.

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Maita Basa Obadele, forgot about this site. I remember emailing the gentleman who runs the site to notify him on many of the dead links about two years ago but no response.