Shona : basic course

536 Pages·17.043 MB·English

by  Earl W Stevick, Foreign Service Institute (U.S.)

FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE
SHONA
BASIC COURSE
D EPA R T MEN T 0 F S TAT E
SHONA
BASIC COURSE
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This work was compiled and pub.
lished with the support of the Office
of Education, Department of Health,
Education and Welfare, United States
of America.
Based on materials supplied by
MR. and MRS. MATTHEW MATARANYIKA.
Organized and edited by EARL W. STEVICK
FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
1965
o o
EPA R T MEN T F
S TAT E
SHONA BASIC COURSE
FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE
BASIC COURSE SERIES
Edited by
LLOYD B. SWIFT
ii
SHONA BASIC COURSE
PREFACE
Shona is one of the two principal languages
of Rhodesia, and extends also into adjacent areas
of Mdzambique. It consists of a number of dialects,
but a standardized form of the language, based on
the Zezuru, Manyika, and Korekore dialects, is gen
erally used in printed materials. These dialects
differ from one another in pronunciation (including
tones) and in vocabulary, but they are in general
agreement with respect to the underlying grammatical
system. One feature of this book is the attempt to
represent simultaneously in the transcription sever
al different pronunciations, in tone as well as in
vowels and consonants.
The present volume is one of a series of short
Basic Courses in selected African languages, prepar
ed by the Foreign Service Institute, under an agree
ment with the Office of Education, Department of
Health, Education, and Welfare, under provisions of
the National Defense Education Act. It is intended
to give the student a start in Shona, providing him
with dialogues that relate to some of the situations
in which he is likely to use the language, as well
as with systematic practice on all major points of
grammar. Emphasis is placed on leading the student
to assume increasing amounts of responsibility and
initiative as he progresses through the book.
The linguist in charge of this project has been
Earl W. Stevick. Shona texts, exercises, and tape
voicings were furnished by Mr. and Mrs. Matthew
Mataranyika. The tape recordings which accompany
this course were prepared in the language laboratory
of the Foreign Service Institute under the direction
of Gabriel Cordova.
SOllenberger,~
Howard E.
School of Language and Area Studies
Foreign Service Institute
Department of State
iii
SHONA BASIC COURSE
FOREWORD
Certain comments may be useful concerning the content and
the form of this course.
Shona Basic Course is intended for general use by adult
foreigners who want to learn Shona. Since however there exist
several important varieties of the language, with clear standard-
ization only in regard to orthography, it is strictly speaking
impossible to write a course in 'Shona'. This book is based on
the speech of two individuals, representing Manyika varieties
of Shona, but with certain systematic emendations in the direction
of the more central dialects. Ample space has been left between
the lines so that each user of the book may add further changes
in accordance with the usage of his own teacher.
The Shona dialogues and exercises were assembled during an
intensive but brief period of collaboration in the summer of
1963. Further organization and editing were in the hands
of the American member of the team, who assumes full respon-
sibility for errors of fact, form, and organization.
The writers gratefully acknowledge the help gained from
consulting An Analytical Grammar of Shona, by G. Fortune, and
Standard Shona Dictionary, edited by M. Hannan.
Washington, D. C.
June, 1965
iv
SHONA BASIC COURSE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Unit 1
Dialogue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Notes.................................................. 4
Syllable accent in Shona.
Tones and ways of representing them in writing.
The representation of dialect variation in
vowels and consonants.
Velarized consonants.
The pronunciation of /v/.
The pronunciation of /zv/.
The pronunciation of /h/.
Unit 2
Dialogue 11
Notes.....'-. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
The use of the macron as a tone mark.
The pronunciation of /mh/.
Subject prefixes.
Use of the forms /zvangu/, /zvav6/, /zvayo/.
The principle of 'concord'.
A procedure for use with substitUtion drills.
A procedure for use with transformation drill~.
Unit 3
Dialogue 19
Notes.........•......•...............•................ 19
The tonal classes of verbs.
The courteous formula 'if you also'.
The honorific use of the plural.
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SHONA BASIC COURSE
Unit 4
Dialague. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Notes 24
Singular and plural nouns.
Additional subject prefixes.
A third tonal class of verbs.
Use of practice conversations.
Unit 5
Dialogue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Notes................................................. 34
The /-no-/ tense.
Locative prefixes with place names.
'Where' questions.
Unit 6
Dialague. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51~
The /-ka-/ tense.
/-0-/).
The prefix /-ndo-/ (or
The aspect prefix /-zo-/.
The Shona counterpart of 'ago'.
Concords used with numerals.
Grammatical points which will not be discussed
at this time.
Unit 7
Dialogue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
The /-cha-/ tense.
The tones of one-syllable verbs.
Possessive pronouns.
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SHONA BASIC COURSE
unit 8
Dialogue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
The /-nga-/ tense.
A note on strong adjectives.
unit 9
Dialogue.............................................. 85
Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
The verb I-rile
The verb fri/ plus infinitive.
The enclitic /--nyi/.
•
Proximal and distal demonstratives.
unit 10
Dialague. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
The /-i-/ tense.
The hodiernal tense.
unit 11
Di alogue. . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Notes............... 106
Relative verb forms, affirmative.
Relative verbs as translations of English adjectives.
Concords with /ndi-/.
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SHONA BASIC COURSE
Unit 12
Dialogue . 117
Nate . 118
Negative of the /-no-/ tense.
unit 13
Dialogue . 125
Notes . 126
Past negative verbs.
Affirmative imperative verbs (without object
prefixes) .
Tones of words with the enclitic /--zve/.
unit 14
Dialogue . 135
Note . 138
/na/ with and without subject prefix.
Unit
Dialogue . 145
147
Note .
Object prefixes.
unit 16
Dialogue . 156
Notes . 157
Independent forms of nouns and strong adjectives.
/-6-/
The form of the verb.
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SHONA BASIC COURSE
Unit 17
Dialogue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Locative prefixes.
/-robo-/.
Unit 18
Dialogue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
/--wo/.
The connective /na/ with personal pronouns.
unit 19
Dialogue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Ina/
The connective with class pronouns.
A sentenc~ type without a verb.
Concordial prefixes with the linking prefix.
Unit 20
Dialogue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Notes..•.......•......•.•......••.-. . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . • • • . 196
The interrogative pro-verb /-dinl/.
Another sentence without a finite verb.
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