Description
Speaking to a broader global preoccupation with the state of languages and language development, this book considers issues surrounding the diverse languages, linguistic communities, and cultures of Zimbabwe.
Reflecting on Shona, Xitsonga, Sotho, Xhosa, Tjwao, Nambya, IsiNdebele, Nyanja, Tshivenda, English and Braille, the book uncovers both the internal and external factors that impact language structures, language use and language ideologies across the country. The book considers how colonial legacies and contemporary language domination and minoritisation have led to language endangerment. It considers the fate of communities whose languages are marginalised and, in the process, poses questions on what can and should be done to preserve Zimbabwean languages. The authors' offerings range across subjects as diverse as music, linguistic innovation, education, human rights, literature, language politics and language policy, in order to build a rich and nuanced picture of language matters in the country.
Coming at a critical moment of increasing mobility, migration, cultural plurality and globalisation, this book will be an important resource for researchers across African literature, linguistics, communication, policy and politics.
Table of Contents
1. The Politics of Language and the Linguistic Imperative to Language Matters in Zimbabwe 2. Re-syllabification and morphophonological nativisation of English loans in Chi/Shona 3. Harmonised Shona varieties: Myths, Misconceptions and Truths in the Standardisation and Harmonisation of Shona-Nyai cross-border Varieties 4. Sociolinguistic motivations behind Analogical Creation and Semantic Irregularities in the Zimbabwe’s Shona language. 5. Zimbabwean ‘kombi’ cant: An etymological and sociolinguistic exploration of ‘chihwindi’ (public transport operators) Shona slang in Zimbabwe 6. The anatomy and soul of the ‘dira rizare’ social media posts in Zimbabwe 7. Navigating stance-taking at university: An explorative study of first year writing in Zimbabwe. 8. Braille access in institutions of higher and tertiary education in Masvingo, Zimbabwe 9. A model of reversing language shift in Xitsonga speakers in southern Zimbabwe’s Mwenezi district 10. The intellectualisation of African languages at institutions of higher learning in Zimbabwe 11. Seclusion through discourse: Begging language in music and chants by the visually impaired in Zimbabwe 12. Linguistic Innovation in Soul Jah Love’s Zimdancehall Music 13. The Native Speakerism Ideology and language Utility in South Africa and Zimbabwe: Challenges in Confronting Normative English Monolingualism 14. Politics of Language, Ethnicity and Marginalization: De-Minoritisation of Nambya Language in the Quest for Cultural Identity 15. Zimbabwe and Her Multi- recognised Official Languages: Some Notable Consequences 16. The Semiotics Politics in Chenjerai Hove’s novel, Bones: Moving Beyond Colonial Binaries to Envision Pluricentric Perspectives
