Ethnos

Shona

Shona is a native language of Zimbabwe and the term is also used to identify those Bantu tribes in Southern Africa who spoke the Shona language. It is an official language of Zimbabwe (together with Ndebele and English). The Shona comprise and is spoken by more than 80% of Zimbabwe's population. Shona is also spoken by a substantial part of Mozambique. Other countries that host Shona language speakers are Zambia and Botswana.

Shona is also a written standard language with a codified orthography and grammar. It is taught in school but is not the general medium of instruction in other subjects. It has a literature, and is described through monolingual and bilingual dictionaries (chiefly Shona - English).

The archaeological ruins known as "Great Zimbabwe" have been radiocarbon dated to approximately 600 A.D. It is believed that the ancestors of modern day Shona built Great Zimbabwe and hundreds of other stone walled sites in Zimbabwe. It was not until the late 19th century that the peoples speaking several mutually intelligible languages were united under the Shona name. There are five main language clusters: Korekore, Zezuru, Manyika, Ndau, and Karanga. The last of these groups was largely absorbed by the Ndebele when they moved into western Zimbabwe in the 1830s and a part of them are identified today as Kalanga. Shona are linguistically related to the central Bantu and most likely moved into present day Zimbabwe during the great Bantu expansion. ***