This article discusses some problems encountered in the processing of the Shona corpus. Most of t... more This article discusses some problems encountered in the processing of the Shona corpus. Most of the problems deal with the handling of adoptives, punctuation and individuals' idiolects. It also discusses the problem ensuing from an attempt to standardise the formats used in the handling of the corpus. The way a corpus is processed is critical in determining its quality. This article aims to show how the different linguistic backgrounds of the processors affect the appreciation of some vital aspects of the corpus. One of the acclaimed advantages of a corpus is that it allows research to be done on natural language. An ideal corpus should be a body of texts combined in a principled way to become a reliable language bank from which researchers retrieve data for various research purposes. With a good corpus, data can be provided giving an authoritative body of linguistic evidence which can support generalisations and against which hypotheses can be tested. As this proves the invaluable status of a corpus, the article assesses the processing of the Shona corpus and discusses how some aspects of the processing may impact negatively on its quality.
The bilingual Shona-English dictionary of biomedical terms, Duramazwi reUrapi neUtano, was compil... more The bilingual Shona-English dictionary of biomedical terms, Duramazwi reUrapi neUtano, was compiled with the aim of improving the efficiency of communication between doctor and patient. The dictionary is composed of terms from both modern and traditional medicinal practices. The article seeks to look at the methods of production of the dictionary, the presentation of entries in the dictionary and the problems and challenges encountered in the compilation process, namely, developing Shona medical terminology in the cultural context and especially the aspect of equivalence between English and Shona biomedical terms.
One universal characteristic of a language is that it has particular speech sounds that are organ... more One universal characteristic of a language is that it has particular speech sounds that are organised and governed by rules. This article presents an analysis of functions and operations of liquids in Barwe. Barwe is a variety of Eastern Shona, a cross-border language spoken in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The article draws comparisons between liquids in Barwe and those that obtain in Central Shona dialects, mainly Zezuru, spoken in and around Zimbabwe's capital Harare, and Karanga, which is spoken in the Masvingo and Midlands provinces of Zimbabwe. Liquids are found to occur in all the varieties that constitute the Shona group. According to Trask (1996), liquid is a conventional label for any non-nasal sonorant. In this paper, added focus is on three sounds which are: the lateral [l], the flap [ɾ] and the trill [r]. We thus make a comparative study of the Downloaded by [Gift Mheta] at 11:00 27 July 2016 152 Mangoya and Mheta A comparative study of operations of liquids in Barwe an...
One universal characteristic of a language is that it has particular speech sounds that are organ... more One universal characteristic of a language is that it has particular speech sounds that are organised and governed by rules. This article presents an analysis of functions and operations of liquids in Barwe. Barwe is a variety of Eastern Shona, a cross-border language spoken in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The article draws comparisons between liquids in Barwe and those that obtain in Central Shona dialects, mainly Zezuru, spoken in and around Zimbabwe's capital Harare, and Karanga, which is spoken in the Masvingo and Midlands provinces of Zimbabwe. Liquids are found to occur in all the varieties that constitute the Shona group. According to Trask (1996), liquid is a conventional label for any non-nasal sonorant. In this paper, added focus is on three sounds which are: the lateral [l], the flap [ɾ] and the trill [r]. We thus make a comparative study of the Downloaded by [Gift Mheta] at 11:00
The study makes an analysis of Charles Mungoshi's Shona works from a Modernist perspective. In th... more The study makes an analysis of Charles Mungoshi's Shona works from a Modernist perspective. In this study, Modernist literature is shown as full of change and adventure that has seen characters failing to catch up with the speed at which their social lives are going. The change is continuos and has resulted in many characters continuously failing to cope, which in turn has resulted in continuous frustrations, here described as despair. The study also shows how the despair is being nurtured in the circumstances of crumbling social institutions which, in the past, had acted as the haven for devastated individuals. The crumbling social institutions are shown to be triggering the despair and the characters are given no room to recuperate. The study makes an analysis of what brings this despair and how in the end, particular individual characters fight to ward off the despair.
This article looks at diglossia in Shona dictionaries. Diglossia is seen here as the differential... more This article looks at diglossia in Shona dictionaries. Diglossia is seen here as the differential and preferential use of a language or a dialect in dictionaries. The main language spoken in Zimbabwe is Shona. Over a period of about one and a half century, at least twenty Shona lexicographic publications including glossed word lists and medium-sized dictionaries have appeared, examples of which are used in this article to demonstrate the diglossic principles in Shona lexicography. As is the case with many languages, Shona is also in contact with other languages, among them English, which during the colonial era was declared the official language of the country. As a result the dictionaries that were compiled were bilingual. In these dictionaries, involving English and Shona, the bias was towards satisfying the needs of English-speaking users, as much of the detail, including the headword entries, was in English. However, with the need to empower the indigenous languages of the country, there was a deliberate move to promote Shona. This saw a change from the compilation of bilingual dictionaries to monolingual dictionaries which resulted in a different mode of diglossia as the dialects within Shona itself do not enjoy equal status in the dictionaries, because some dialects are given preference above others. This article traces the diglossic tendencies among languages and within the same language in dictionaries involving Shona. Diglossiese beginsels in Sjonaleksikografie. Hierdie artikel beskou diglossie in Sjonawoordeboeke. Diglossie word hier gesien as die diskriminerende en begunstigende gebruik van 'n taal of 'n dialek in woordeboeke. Die hooftaal wat in Zimbabwe gepraat word, is Sjona. Oor 'n tydperk van ongeveer een en 'n half eeu, het ten minste twintig Sjona- leksikografiese publikasies verskyn, insluitende geglosseerde woordelyste en middelgroot woordeboeke, voorbeelde waarvan in hierdie artikel gebruik word om die diglossiese beginsels in Sjonaleksikografie te toon. Soos die geval is met baie tale, is Sjona ook in kontak met ander tale, onder hulle Engels wat gedurende die koloniale tydperk as die amptelike taal van die land verklaar is. Gevolglik was die woordeboeke wat saamgestel is, tweetalig. In hierdie woordeboeke waarby Engels en Sjona betrokke was, was die neiging om die behoeftes van Engelssprekende gebruikers te bevredig omdat baie van die besonderhede, insluitende die trefwoordinskrywings, in Engels was. Met die behoefte egter om die inheemse tale van die land te bemagtig, was daar 'n doelbewuste beweging om Sjona te bevorder. Dit het 'n verandering gebring weg van die samestelling van tweetalige woordeboeke na eentalige woordeboeke, wat gelei het tot 'n ander vorm van diglossie omdat die dialekte binne Sjona self nie gelyke status in die woordeboeke geniet nie, maar aan sommige voorkeur bo ander gegee word. Hierdie artikel spoor die diglossiese neigings na tussen tale en binne dieselfde taal in woordeboeke waarby Sjona betrokke is.
The article discusses the challenges that confronted the team of compilers working on the monolin... more The article discusses the challenges that confronted the team of compilers working on the monolingual Shona Children's Dictionary (henceforth SCD). It looks at the active involvement of the target users in shaping the project and discusses the considerations for the implementation of their recommendations. Matters of concern include issues of headword selection, especially problems of dialect representation in the dictionary. The article also discusses the inclusion of grammatical information such as tone marking. The SCD is one of the many efforts to promote and raise the functions of the indigenous languages in Zimbabwe. Of special interest in this article is therefore the discussion on the inclusion of international words like those denoting weight, distance and mathematical and scientific concepts. The article also considers the treatment of taboo words in the SCD, which takes into account that society has to open up culturally to be able to unequivocally view some of the aspects of life with which present-day children are confronted. The article lastly discusses how a balance was reached for accommodating the target users' proposal for the inclusion of an elaborate back matter in view of the limited available scope and space of the SCD.
This article looks at diglossia in Shona dictionaries. Diglossia is seen here as the differential... more This article looks at diglossia in Shona dictionaries. Diglossia is seen here as the differential and preferential use of a language or a dialect in dictionaries. The main language spoken in Zimbabwe is Shona. Over a period of about one and a half century, at least twenty Shona lexicographic publications including glossed word lists and medium-sized dictionaries have appeared, examples of which are used in this article to demonstrate the diglossic principles in Shona lexicography. As is the case with many languages, Shona is also in contact with other languages, among them English, which during the colonial era was declared the official language of the country. As a result the dictionaries that were compiled were bilingual. In these dictionaries, involving English and Shona, the bias was towards satisfying the needs of English-speaking users, as much of the detail, including the headword entries, was in English. However, with the need to empower the indigenous languages of the country, there was a deliberate move to promote Shona. This saw a change from the compilation of bilingual dictionaries to monolingual dictionaries which resulted in a different mode of diglossia as the dialects within Shona itself do not enjoy equal status in the dictionaries, because some dialects are given preference above others. This article traces the diglossic tendencies among languages and within the same language in dictionaries involving Shona.
This article looks at diglossia in Shona dictionaries. Diglossia is seen here as the differential... more This article looks at diglossia in Shona dictionaries. Diglossia is seen here as the differential and preferential use of a language or a dialect in dictionaries. The main language spoken in Zimbabwe is Shona. Over a period of about one and a half century, at least twenty Shona lexicographic publications including glossed word lists and medium-sized dictionaries have appeared, examples of which are used in this article to demonstrate the diglossic principles in Shona lexicography. As is the case with many languages, Shona is also in contact with other languages, among them English, which during the colonial era was declared the official language of the country. As a result the dictionaries that were compiled were bilingual. In these dictionaries, involving English and Shona, the bias was towards satisfying the needs of English-speaking users, as much of the detail, including the headword entries, was in English. However, with the need to empower the indigenous languages of the country, there was a deliberate move to promote Shona. This saw a change from the compilation of bilingual dictionaries to monolingual dictionaries which resulted in a different mode of diglossia as the dialects within Shona itself do not enjoy equal status in the dictionaries, because some dialects are given preference above others. This article traces the diglossic tendencies among languages and within the same language in dictionaries involving Shona.
This article discusses some problems encountered in the processing of the Shona corpus. Most of t... more This article discusses some problems encountered in the processing of the Shona corpus. Most of the problems deal with the handling of adoptives, punctuation and individuals' idiolects. It also discusses the problem ensuing from an attempt to standardise the formats used in the handling of the corpus. The way a corpus is processed is critical in determining its quality. This article aims to show how the different linguistic backgrounds of the processors affect the appreciation of some vital aspects of the corpus. One of the acclaimed advantages of a corpus is that it allows research to be done on natural language. An ideal corpus should be a body of texts combined in a principled way to become a reliable language bank from which researchers retrieve data for various research purposes. With a good corpus, data can be provided giving an authoritative body of linguistic evidence which can support generalisations and against which hypotheses can be tested. As this proves the invaluable status of a corpus, the article assesses the processing of the Shona corpus and discusses how some aspects of the processing may impact negatively on its quality.
The bilingual Shona-English dictionary of biomedical terms, Duramazwi reUrapi neUtano, was compil... more The bilingual Shona-English dictionary of biomedical terms, Duramazwi reUrapi neUtano, was compiled with the aim of improving the efficiency of communication between doctor and patient. The dictionary is composed of terms from both modern and traditional medicinal practices. The article seeks to look at the methods of production of the dictionary, the presentation of entries in the dictionary and the problems and challenges encountered in the compilation process, namely, developing Shona medical terminology in the cultural context and especially the aspect of equivalence between English and Shona biomedical terms.
One universal characteristic of a language is that it has particular speech sounds that are organ... more One universal characteristic of a language is that it has particular speech sounds that are organised and governed by rules. This article presents an analysis of functions and operations of liquids in Barwe. Barwe is a variety of Eastern Shona, a cross-border language spoken in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The article draws comparisons between liquids in Barwe and those that obtain in Central Shona dialects, mainly Zezuru, spoken in and around Zimbabwe's capital Harare, and Karanga, which is spoken in the Masvingo and Midlands provinces of Zimbabwe. Liquids are found to occur in all the varieties that constitute the Shona group. According to Trask (1996), liquid is a conventional label for any non-nasal sonorant. In this paper, added focus is on three sounds which are: the lateral [l], the flap [ɾ] and the trill [r]. We thus make a comparative study of the Downloaded by [Gift Mheta] at 11:00 27 July 2016 152 Mangoya and Mheta A comparative study of operations of liquids in Barwe an...
One universal characteristic of a language is that it has particular speech sounds that are organ... more One universal characteristic of a language is that it has particular speech sounds that are organised and governed by rules. This article presents an analysis of functions and operations of liquids in Barwe. Barwe is a variety of Eastern Shona, a cross-border language spoken in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The article draws comparisons between liquids in Barwe and those that obtain in Central Shona dialects, mainly Zezuru, spoken in and around Zimbabwe's capital Harare, and Karanga, which is spoken in the Masvingo and Midlands provinces of Zimbabwe. Liquids are found to occur in all the varieties that constitute the Shona group. According to Trask (1996), liquid is a conventional label for any non-nasal sonorant. In this paper, added focus is on three sounds which are: the lateral [l], the flap [ɾ] and the trill [r]. We thus make a comparative study of the Downloaded by [Gift Mheta] at 11:00
The study makes an analysis of Charles Mungoshi's Shona works from a Modernist perspective. In th... more The study makes an analysis of Charles Mungoshi's Shona works from a Modernist perspective. In this study, Modernist literature is shown as full of change and adventure that has seen characters failing to catch up with the speed at which their social lives are going. The change is continuos and has resulted in many characters continuously failing to cope, which in turn has resulted in continuous frustrations, here described as despair. The study also shows how the despair is being nurtured in the circumstances of crumbling social institutions which, in the past, had acted as the haven for devastated individuals. The crumbling social institutions are shown to be triggering the despair and the characters are given no room to recuperate. The study makes an analysis of what brings this despair and how in the end, particular individual characters fight to ward off the despair.
This article looks at diglossia in Shona dictionaries. Diglossia is seen here as the differential... more This article looks at diglossia in Shona dictionaries. Diglossia is seen here as the differential and preferential use of a language or a dialect in dictionaries. The main language spoken in Zimbabwe is Shona. Over a period of about one and a half century, at least twenty Shona lexicographic publications including glossed word lists and medium-sized dictionaries have appeared, examples of which are used in this article to demonstrate the diglossic principles in Shona lexicography. As is the case with many languages, Shona is also in contact with other languages, among them English, which during the colonial era was declared the official language of the country. As a result the dictionaries that were compiled were bilingual. In these dictionaries, involving English and Shona, the bias was towards satisfying the needs of English-speaking users, as much of the detail, including the headword entries, was in English. However, with the need to empower the indigenous languages of the country, there was a deliberate move to promote Shona. This saw a change from the compilation of bilingual dictionaries to monolingual dictionaries which resulted in a different mode of diglossia as the dialects within Shona itself do not enjoy equal status in the dictionaries, because some dialects are given preference above others. This article traces the diglossic tendencies among languages and within the same language in dictionaries involving Shona. Diglossiese beginsels in Sjonaleksikografie. Hierdie artikel beskou diglossie in Sjonawoordeboeke. Diglossie word hier gesien as die diskriminerende en begunstigende gebruik van 'n taal of 'n dialek in woordeboeke. Die hooftaal wat in Zimbabwe gepraat word, is Sjona. Oor 'n tydperk van ongeveer een en 'n half eeu, het ten minste twintig Sjona- leksikografiese publikasies verskyn, insluitende geglosseerde woordelyste en middelgroot woordeboeke, voorbeelde waarvan in hierdie artikel gebruik word om die diglossiese beginsels in Sjonaleksikografie te toon. Soos die geval is met baie tale, is Sjona ook in kontak met ander tale, onder hulle Engels wat gedurende die koloniale tydperk as die amptelike taal van die land verklaar is. Gevolglik was die woordeboeke wat saamgestel is, tweetalig. In hierdie woordeboeke waarby Engels en Sjona betrokke was, was die neiging om die behoeftes van Engelssprekende gebruikers te bevredig omdat baie van die besonderhede, insluitende die trefwoordinskrywings, in Engels was. Met die behoefte egter om die inheemse tale van die land te bemagtig, was daar 'n doelbewuste beweging om Sjona te bevorder. Dit het 'n verandering gebring weg van die samestelling van tweetalige woordeboeke na eentalige woordeboeke, wat gelei het tot 'n ander vorm van diglossie omdat die dialekte binne Sjona self nie gelyke status in die woordeboeke geniet nie, maar aan sommige voorkeur bo ander gegee word. Hierdie artikel spoor die diglossiese neigings na tussen tale en binne dieselfde taal in woordeboeke waarby Sjona betrokke is.
The article discusses the challenges that confronted the team of compilers working on the monolin... more The article discusses the challenges that confronted the team of compilers working on the monolingual Shona Children's Dictionary (henceforth SCD). It looks at the active involvement of the target users in shaping the project and discusses the considerations for the implementation of their recommendations. Matters of concern include issues of headword selection, especially problems of dialect representation in the dictionary. The article also discusses the inclusion of grammatical information such as tone marking. The SCD is one of the many efforts to promote and raise the functions of the indigenous languages in Zimbabwe. Of special interest in this article is therefore the discussion on the inclusion of international words like those denoting weight, distance and mathematical and scientific concepts. The article also considers the treatment of taboo words in the SCD, which takes into account that society has to open up culturally to be able to unequivocally view some of the aspects of life with which present-day children are confronted. The article lastly discusses how a balance was reached for accommodating the target users' proposal for the inclusion of an elaborate back matter in view of the limited available scope and space of the SCD.
This article looks at diglossia in Shona dictionaries. Diglossia is seen here as the differential... more This article looks at diglossia in Shona dictionaries. Diglossia is seen here as the differential and preferential use of a language or a dialect in dictionaries. The main language spoken in Zimbabwe is Shona. Over a period of about one and a half century, at least twenty Shona lexicographic publications including glossed word lists and medium-sized dictionaries have appeared, examples of which are used in this article to demonstrate the diglossic principles in Shona lexicography. As is the case with many languages, Shona is also in contact with other languages, among them English, which during the colonial era was declared the official language of the country. As a result the dictionaries that were compiled were bilingual. In these dictionaries, involving English and Shona, the bias was towards satisfying the needs of English-speaking users, as much of the detail, including the headword entries, was in English. However, with the need to empower the indigenous languages of the country, there was a deliberate move to promote Shona. This saw a change from the compilation of bilingual dictionaries to monolingual dictionaries which resulted in a different mode of diglossia as the dialects within Shona itself do not enjoy equal status in the dictionaries, because some dialects are given preference above others. This article traces the diglossic tendencies among languages and within the same language in dictionaries involving Shona.
This article looks at diglossia in Shona dictionaries. Diglossia is seen here as the differential... more This article looks at diglossia in Shona dictionaries. Diglossia is seen here as the differential and preferential use of a language or a dialect in dictionaries. The main language spoken in Zimbabwe is Shona. Over a period of about one and a half century, at least twenty Shona lexicographic publications including glossed word lists and medium-sized dictionaries have appeared, examples of which are used in this article to demonstrate the diglossic principles in Shona lexicography. As is the case with many languages, Shona is also in contact with other languages, among them English, which during the colonial era was declared the official language of the country. As a result the dictionaries that were compiled were bilingual. In these dictionaries, involving English and Shona, the bias was towards satisfying the needs of English-speaking users, as much of the detail, including the headword entries, was in English. However, with the need to empower the indigenous languages of the country, there was a deliberate move to promote Shona. This saw a change from the compilation of bilingual dictionaries to monolingual dictionaries which resulted in a different mode of diglossia as the dialects within Shona itself do not enjoy equal status in the dictionaries, because some dialects are given preference above others. This article traces the diglossic tendencies among languages and within the same language in dictionaries involving Shona.
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