fbpx
Wikipedia

Languages of Zimbabwe

Many languages are spoken, or historically have been spoken, in Zimbabwe. Since the adoption of its 2013 Constitution, Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, namely Chewa, Chibarwe, English, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani, Shona, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa. The country's main languages are Shona, spoken by only 42% of the population, and Ndebele, spoken by roughly 39%. English is the country's lingua franca, used in government and business and as the main medium of instruction in schools. English is the first language of most white Zimbabweans, and is the second language of a majority of black Zimbabweans. Historically, a minority of white Zimbabweans spoke Afrikaans, Greek, Italian, Polish, and Portuguese, among other languages, while Gujarati and Hindi could be found amongst the country's Indian population. Deaf Zimbabweans commonly use one of several varieties of Zimbabwean Sign Language, with some using American Sign Language. Zimbabwean language data is based on estimates, as Zimbabwe has never conducted a census that enumerated people by language.

Official language status edit

Since the adoption of the 2013 Constitution, Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, namely Chewa, Chibarwe, English, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani, Shona, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, and Xhosa.[2][3][4] Zimbabwe holds the Guinness World Record for the country with the largest number of official languages.[2]

Prior to independence in 1980, English had been the official language of Zimbabwe's antecedents since the arrival of white rule in the region. During the Company-rule period in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, English was established as Rhodesia's official language by the British South Africa Company.[5] In a 1918 letter written in response to an Afrikaner settler who complained about the Rhodesian policy of not allowing the teaching of Afrikaans in schools, the secretary to the Administrator of Southern Rhodesia wrote that "the official language of Southern Rhodesia has ever since the occupation of the country been English and ... no provision exists in the legislation of the territory for the recognition of a second official language."[5]

English remained the official language when Southern Rhodesia was established as a self-governing Crown colony in 1923. During the UDI period from 1965 to 1979, English was retained as the official language of the unrecognised state of Rhodesia.[6] Rhodesia's successor, the short-lived unrecognized state of Zimbabwe Rhodesia, designated English the "only official language" of the country.[7] Zimbabwe Rhodesia was succeeded by Zimbabwe in 1980. Zimbabwe's original constitution, drafted in 1979 at the Lancaster House Agreement, did not name any official languages.[3] By the time the new 2013 constitution was being drafted, English, Shona, and Ndebele had become the country's official languages.[4] The Constitution requires that Zimbabwe equally promote each of its official languages, including in schools and in government.[2]

Main languages edit

English edit

Shona edit

Shona is a Bantu language spoken by roughly 87% of Zimbabweans and is one of Zimbabwe's official languages.[2][3][4] It is the traditional language of Zimbabwe's Shona people, who live in Zimbabwe's central and eastern provinces. Shona has a number of dialects, including Karanga, Korekore, Manyika, Ndau, and Zezuru. Standard Shona is derived from the Central Shona dialects, especially Karanga and Zezuru.[8] According to Ethnologue, Shona is spoken by roughly 9.8 million people, making it the most widely spoken Bantu language of Zimbabwe.[8] The Manyika and Ndau dialects[9] are listed separately by Ethnologue[10] and are spoken by around 1 million[11] and 2.4 million people,[12] respectively. When Manyika and Ndau are added to the total, Shona is spoken by over 14 million people. There are over 80,000 Shona speakers in Botswana. They are found mainly in the villages of Mmandunyane, Tonota, Francistown, Selibe Phikwe, Gaborone, and other towns and villages in Botswana although Shona is not an official language in Botswana.

Ndebele edit

The Northern Ndebele language, also known simply as Ndebele, is an Nguni Bantu language spoken by the Northern Ndebele people of Zimbabwe's Matabeleland region.[13] The Ndebele language is closely related to the Zulu language of South Africa, and developed in Zimbabwe in the 19th century when Zulus migrated to what is now Zimbabwe from the Zulu Kingdom in 1839. Today, Ndebele is spoken by roughly about 13% of the population and is one of Zimbabwe's official languages.[2][3][4]

There is a small number of Ndebele speakers in the northeastern part of Botswana bordering Zimbabwe. Ndebele, however, is not an official language in Botswana.

Other languages edit

Chewa edit

Chewa is a Bantu language spoken in northeastern Zimbabwe. According to some estimates, it is the third-most widely spoken indigenous language in the country, after Shona and Ndebele."[14][self-published source?] Chewa is one of Zimbabwe's official languages.[2][3][4]

Chibarwe edit

Chibarwe, also known as Sena, is a Bantu language, mainly found in Malawi and Mozambique, with a small number of speakers in Zimbabwe. Chibarwe is one of Zimbabwe's official languages.[2][3][4]

Kalanga edit

Kalanga is a Bantu language spoken by the Kalanga people of northwestern Zimbabwe. It is spoken by over 300,000 people, and is one of Zimbabwe's official languages.[2][3][4]

Kalanga is spoken by over 300,000 people in Botswana. The language is, however, not an official one. Kalanga is predominantly in the North Eastern part of Botswana.

Koisan edit

Koisan, also known as Tshwa, is a Khoe language that is one of Zimbabwe's official languages.[2][3][4]

Kunda edit

Kunda is a Bantu language spoken in eastern Zimbabwe, in the Mashonaland Central and Mashonaland West provinces.[15] It was spoken by 145,000 people in Zimbabwe in 2000.[15]

Lozi edit

Lozi, a Bantu language spoken primarily in southwestern Zambia, is spoken by roughly 70,000 Zimbabweans.[2] There are over 30,000 Lozi/Rotsi speakers in Botswana. They are found mainly in Chobe district which comprises Kazungula, Kasane and surrounding small settlements bordering Zimbabwe, Namibia and Zambia. Lozi is, however, not an official language in Botswana.

Manyika edit

Manyika is in practice a dialect of Shona and is considered by all Zimbabweans to be Shona, though it is officially listed as a separate language.[2] It is spoken by the Manyika tribe of Zimbabwe's easternmost province, Manicaland, as well as in Mashonaland East Province.[16] In 2000, it had an estimated 861,000 speakers in Zimbabwe.[16]

Nambya edit

Nambya is a Bantu language spoken by the Nambya people of northwestern Zimbabwe, particularly in the town of Hwange.[17][18] It is closely related to the Kalanga language.[19] It is spoken by nearly 100,000 people, and is one of Zimbabwe's official languages.[2][3][4]

Ndau edit

Ndau is a Bantu language, often considered a dialect of Shona, that is spoken by around 2.4 million people in southeastern Zimbabwe and central Mozambique. It is one of Zimbabwe's official languages.[2][3][4] Ndau is spoken in the southern of Zimbabwe

Nsenga edit

Nsenga, also known as Senga, is a Bantu language of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique, occupying an area on the plateau that forms the watershed between the Zambezi and Luangwa river systems and Western Malawi land overshadowing Kachebere mountain called Mchinji. The urban form of Nyanja spoken in the Zambian capital Lusaka has many features of Nsenga.

Tsonga-Shangani edit

Shangani, also known as Tsonga, is a Bantu language spoken in southeastern Zimbabwe, as well as in Eswatini, Mozambique, and South Africa. It is one of Zimbabwe's official languages.[2][3][4]

Sotho edit

Sotho, also known as Sesotho, is a Bantu language primarily spoken in South Africa and Lesotho, with a small number of speakers in Zimbabwe. It is one of Zimbabwe's official languages. There is a small number of BaSotho in Botswana at a village called Tlhareseleele; however, it is not an official language in Botswana.[2][3][4]

Tjwao edit

Tjwao (formerly Tshwao) is an endangered Khoe language spoken by fewer than 20 people in the Tsholotsho District of Zimbabwe, all over 60 years of age.[4][20][21] A slightly larger group of 100 have passive or partial knowledge of the language.

Tonga edit

Tonga, also known as Zambezi, is a Bantu language spoken by 1.5 million people in southern Zambia and northern Zimbabwe. It is primarily spoken by the Tonga people and is a second language for some Zimbabweans. Tonga is one of Zimbabwe's official languages.[2][3][4]

Tswa edit

Tswa (Xitswa) is a South-Eastern Bantu language in Southern Mozambique. Its closest relatives are Ronga and Tsonga, the three forming the Tswa–Ronga family of languages.

Tswana edit

Tswana is a Bantu language that is one of Zimbabwe's official languages.[2][3][4]

Venda edit

Venda is a Bantu language that is one of Zimbabwe's official languages. It is spoken in the northern part of South Africa around Mesina whereas in Zimbabwe, it's common in the southern area of the Limpopo river.[2][3][4]

Xhosa edit

Xhosa is an Nguni Bantu language, most commonly found in South Africa, spoken by around 200,000 Zimbabweans, a little over 1% of the population.[22] Xhosa is one of Zimbabwe's official languages.[2][3][4] "Ishe Komborera Africa", the former Zimbabwean national anthem, was based on a Xhosa hymn. A small population of Xhosa is found in Botswana at a village called Bikwe and at Xhosa ward in Mahalapye village. Xhosa is not an official language in Botswana.

Immigrant languages edit

Afrikaans edit

Afrikaans is spoken by a small minority of white Zimbabweans, the number of whom has declined significantly since 1980.[23][24][25] Afrikaans speakers in Zimbabwe are typically Afrikaner immigrants from South Africa or their descendants. Afrikaners first arrived in what would become Southern Rhodesia in the early 1890s, recruited to be among the first pioneers by Cecil Rhodes, who sought to bring their agricultural expertise for the new region.[26][27] They spread throughout the country, taking up farming and cattle ranching.[26][27] Afrikaners settled in rural areas outside towns and cities, so they could sell their agricultural products.[27] Bulawayo, Enkeldoorn, Umtali, Salisbury, and particularly, Melsetter, became Afrikaner population centers.[27]

Afrikaner children, especially in rural areas, were initially educated in Afrikaans.[27] However, following the Second Boer War, British colonial authorities increasingly demanded that Afrikaner schools teach in English.[27] Despite Afrikaner complaints, the British South Africa Company, which governed the territory until 1923, would not budge.[5][27] In a letter written in response to protesting Afrikaners, the secretary to the administrator of Southern Rhodesia wrote: "... the laws of the country make no provision for Dutch teaching, and even recently the Administrator has publicly stated that there is no prospect of change in the said laws."[27] L. M. Foggin, the colonial director of education, warned in an official report: "I am convinced that if the concession of mother-tongue instruction were allowed in the schools of Rhodesia, it would result at once in Dutch districts in the teaching to the children of characteristic anti-British and anti-Imperial principles of the Nationalist party."[27]

In spite of this issue, Afrikaners assimilated fairly well into the larger English-speaking white population, and were generally seen as loyal to the Southern Rhodesian government.[26][27] Afrikaners preserved their language and culture through their own institutions.[26][27] Dutch Reformed churches commonly conducted Afrikaans services in the morning, followed by services in English and indigenous African languages in the afternoon.[28] An Afrikaans-language school, Bothashof, was established in 1911 in Bulawayo. An Afrikaner organisation, the Afrikaans Cultural Union of Rhodesia (AKUR), was established in 1934, and sought to preserve Afrikaner culture in Rhodesia, particularly through creating an Afrikaans press and by promoting the Afrikaans language in schools.[27] A printing press was acquired, and AKUR began publishing Afrikaans daily newspapers and magazines, including Zambesi Ringsblad, Kern, Die Rhodesiër, and Die Volksgenoot.[27]

Tension over language and cultural differences between Afrikaners and the English continued to exist, coming to a head in 1944, when the so-called "Enkeldoorn incident", in which an Afrikaner boy killed an English boy at the Enkeldoorn School, made headlines.[27] A commission investigating the incident found that the incident was motivated by language and cultural tensions, which at the time were inflamed by World War II, as many English suspected Afrikaners of having German sympathies.[27] Nevertheless, the Afrikaner population in Rhodesia continued to grow and more Afrikaner organisations were established, including the Afrikaner Youth in 1947) and the Association of Rhodesian Afrikaners (GRA) in 1965.[27] The GRA soon became the preeminent Afrikaner organisation in the country, organising Afrikaner cultural activities and lobbying for greater Afrikaans language rights, particularly in schools.[27]

By the late 1960s, the Afrikaner population in Rhodesia had grown to 25,000.[26] After the mid 1960s, Afrikaners began to enter Rhodesian politics.[27] Notable Afrikaner politicians during this period included several cabinet ministers: Rowan Cronjé, P. K. van der Byl, and Phillip van Heerden. Though the Rhodesian government under premier Ian Smith was on better terms with Afrikaners than previous governments, the issue of education remained.[27] Bothashof, which had relocated to Salisbury in 1946, remained the country's only Afrikaans-medium school.[27] In 1971, the Association of Rhodesian Afrikaners made an urgent call to the government, demanding that they open more Afrikaans-language schools, but the government ignored them.[27] The Afrikaner population in Rhodesia peaked at 35,000 in 1975, and began declining thereafter.[27] As Afrikaners emigrated to South Africa, Afrikaner organisations saw decline; the GRA gradually became less active.[27] In 1977, the Rhodesian Afrikaner Action Circle (RAAK) was established in Bulawayo, and soon became the main Afrikaner organisation in the country.[27] Kern and Die Rhodesiër, the two major Afrikaans newspapers in Rhodesia, were edited by RAAK members.[27]

After Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, much of the country's Afrikaner population emigrated, most to South Africa.[26] The GRA was disestablished in the early 1980s.[27] A new Afrikaner organisation, the Afrikaner Community of Zimbabwe, was founded in April 1981 in Harare.[27] Bothashof, the country's Afrikaans-medium school, saw its enrollment drop from 450 in 1980 to 160 in 1982.[26][27] The school closed and reopened the next year as a multiracial, English-language school with an English headmaster, marking an end to Afrikaans education in Zimbabwe.[26][27] By 1984, just 15,000 Afrikaners remained in Zimbabwe, a nearly 60% decline from ten years earlier.[26][27]

Chinese edit

Chinese people in Zimbabwe are a small community that grew in size in the 2000s as an influx of Chinese shopkeepers settled in the country.[29] it is estimated there are roughly around 10000 Chinese people living in the country. Making it a sizable community.

Dutch edit

A wave of Dutch-speaking immigrants from the Netherlands moved to Southern Rhodesia in the 1950s.[30][31] Many of them remained in Rhodesia after 1965, when the colony unilaterally declared independence under a white minority government, as well as after Zimbabwe's independence in 1980.[30][31] Many of them lost their farms during the country's land reform program in the early 2000s, with some leaving the country and others remaining.[31]

French edit

German edit

German is spoken by a small minority of white Zimbabweans. The language first arrived in Southern Rhodesia during World War II, when the British set up five camps in the colony to hold thousands of Axis prisoners of war and internees, mainly Italians and Germans.[32] Two of these camps, which opened in 1939–40 outside Salisbury, accommodated roughly 800 German inmates, who were former residents of Tanganyika.[32] These prisoners were repatriated after war.[32]

By the 1970s, a number of West German missionaries were present in Rhodesia. In 1978, the year two German missionaries were killed amidst the Rhodesian Bush War, it was reported that 30 German Jesuits were active in the country.[33] In the years after Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, a number of German nationals took up farming in Zimbabwe.[34] They were among those whose farms were confiscated during the land reform program in the early 2000s, and left the country.[34]

Greek edit

The Greeks in Zimbabwe comprise about 3,000 people of Greek origin, almost half of them from the island of Cyprus.[35] Zimbabwe currently hosts eleven Greek Orthodox churches and fifteen Greek associations and humanitarian organizations.[36]

Gujarati edit

Gujarati is the traditional language of the majority of Zimbabwe's Indian population, many of whom are descended from immigrants from Gujarat.[37][38] The Indian presence in what is now Zimbabwe dates back to 1890, when Indian plantation workers emigrated from South Africa into Southern Rhodesia.[39] Indian immigration was restricted in 1924 when Southern Rhodesia attained self-government, but the Indian community still grew. Many Indian Zimbabweans left the country following the country's economic downturn that began around 2000.[37] As of October 2016, an estimated 9,000 Zimbabwean citizens were of Indian origin, mostly Gujarati.[39] An additional 500 Indian citizens were residents in Zimbabwe at that time.[39] as there was racial segregation during the colonial period, Asians and Coloured people we allowed to intermarry resulting in many coloured people being also descendant of Gujarati and Hindi ethnic groups as well as to some extent afro-Asian descendants.

Hindi edit

Hindi is the traditional language of a minority of Zimbabwe's Indian population, most of whom are of Gujarati, rather than Hindustani, origin.[37][38] The Indian presence in what is now Zimbabwe dates back to 1890, when Indian plantation workers emigrated from South Africa into Southern Rhodesia.[39] Indian immigration was restricted in 1924 when Southern Rhodesia attained self-government, but the Indian community still grew. Many Indian Zimbabweans left the country following the country's economic downturn that began around 2000.[37] As of October 2016, an estimated 9,000 Zimbabwean citizens were of Indian origin (it is unclear how many of these, if any, are Hindi speakers.[39] An additional 500 Indian citizens were residents in Zimbabwe at that time.[39]

Italian edit

Italian is spoken by a small minority of white Zimbabweans. The language first arrived in Southern Rhodesia during World War II, when the British set up five camps in the colony to hold thousands of Axis prisoners of war and internees.[32] Three of these camps, set up in 1941–42 in Gatooma, Umvuma, and Fort Victoria, accommodated roughly 5,000 Italians, mostly from Somaliland and Ethiopia.[32] After Italy's surrender in September 1943, the British began repatriating Italian internees and POWs, sending them to Port Elizabeth, South Africa, where they were taken home by ship.[40][41] Other Italians were not sent home, but were simply let out of the camps, and some of these chose to remain in Southern Rhodesia.[42] Italian prisoners of War were also used in construction of the Castle next to the Leopard Rock Hotel in the 1920s.By the early 2000s, there was still a sizable Italian population in Zimbabwe.[43]

Polish edit

Polish is spoken by a small minority of white Zimbabweans. The language first arrived in Southern Rhodesia during World War II, when the colony hosted nearly 7,000 refugees from Poland.[32] Polish refugees were housed at dedicated settlements set up at Marandellas and Rusape, two towns about 40 km (25 mi) apart to the south-east of Salisbury, from 1943. The Polish settlements in Southern Rhodesia were run jointly by local authorities and the Polish consulate in Salisbury; the Polish government-in-exile in London provided funding. Polish-language schools and churches were built for the refugees.[44] After the Polish government-in-exile discontinued its operations and closed its consulate in 1944, the Polish refugees were increasingly viewed as a burden by the Southern Rhodesian government.[45] A few began being sent home in May 1944,[45] and transport back to Europe picked up sharply as the war came to a close, with less than 2,000 Polish refugees remaining by October 1945.[32]

Colonial officials were reluctant to let the remaining Poles stay in Southern Rhodesia indefinitely, asserting that they were not culturally British enough and might have communist connections or sympathies.[32] Additionally, the Poles were seen as lacking the skills and education that would allow them to compete against blacks in a free market.[45] Despite these concerns, most of the Poles who remained showed little inclination to leave.[32] By 1947, when the Rhodesian government offered repatriation to the remaining 1,282 Poles in the colony, only two women agreed.[45] Despite pressure from the British government and the United Nations Refugee Programme, the Rhodesian government agreed to accept only 726 Poles as permanent residents, the bare minimum to meet the 10% per nationality required by international law.[32][45]

Portuguese edit

Pidgin languages edit

Chilapalapa edit

Chilapalapa, also known as Fanagalo,[46] was a pidgin language used as a lingua franca between whites, Asians, and blacks during the colonial period.[47] Like its South African cousin Fanagalo, it was primarily spoken in the mining sector, on white-owned farms, and in larger settlements.[46][47] According to one source, 60% of Chilapalapa vocabulary is of Ndebele origin, 20% from English, 10% from Shona, 5% from Afrikaans, and 5% from Chewa.[citation needed] Other sources describes the language as having primarily Shona influence rather than Ndebele.[46][47][48]

Fanagalo originated in the 19th century in South Africa, and Chilapalapa, which is closely related, developed as whites began settling in Southern Rhodesia.[47] As the majority of blacks at that time lacked education and the ability to speak English, Chilapalapa became a common lingua franca used by whites and Asians to communicate with blacks, and vice versa, usually in the context of work environment.[47] Blacks who spoke Chilapalapa generally lacked formal education and often did not speak English.[47] Additionally, whites often demanded that blacks speak to them in Chilapalapa, not wanting to speak with them in English as it might imply an equal status among the races.[48] Because it was often used demeaningly by whites, blacks often associated Chilapalapa with racism and colonialism.[47][48] In contrast, whites viewed Chilapalapa more positively, even celebrating it as a unique facet of Rhodesian culture. The Rhodesian folk singer John Edmond recorded "The Chilapalapa Song",[49] and newsreader and comedian Wrex Tarr routinely used Chilapalapa in his performances.[48]

Though Chilapalapa was a widespread second language in Rhodesia, with several hundred thousand speakers in 1975,[46] it was never commonly spoken outside work environments.[47] It was used in towns, and in the farming and mining sectors, and was especially common in the Mashonaland region, but was never taught in schools or used in any official contexts.[citation needed] Written Chilapalapa literature was rare.[citation needed] Because of its lack of use in schools and formal contexts and due to its negative association with colonialism, use of Chilapalapa virtually disappeared after Zimbabwe's independence after 1980.[48] Today, Chilapalapa is heard only occasionally being spoken between older white and blacks.[47]

A 2018 survey of white farm owners, Asian store owners, and young black teachers born after independence found wide disparities in knowledge of and attitudes toward Chilapalapa.[citation needed] Among those surveyed who grew up before independence, all were proficient in Chilapalapa. Among those born after independence, none could speak Chilapalapa, though most had heard of it. Attitudes towards the language differed, largely across racial lines. Most whites and Asians surveyed saw Chilapalapa as a useful lingua franca, while blacks viewed it as a symbol of racism and colonialism.[citation needed]

Sign languages edit

Alongside numerous oral languages, sign languages are also used in Zimbabwe. Sign languages in Southern Rhodesia first developed independently among deaf students in different schools for the deaf beginning in the 1940s. It is unclear how many sign languages there are in Zimbabwe, and to what extent each is used, as little research has been done. The Glottolog, a language database maintained by the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany, lists seven varieties of indigenous Zimbabwean sign language: Manicaland Sign, Mashonaland Sign, Masvingo School Sign, Matabeleland Sign, Midlands Sign, Zimbabwe Community Sign, and Zimbabwe School Sign.[50] American Sign Language is also reportedly used, though it is not clear to what extent.[51] "Sign language", without further specificity, became one of Zimbabwe's official languages in the 2013 Constitution.[52]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) - Zimbabwe | Data".
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Pariona, Amber (2017-04-25). "What Languages Are Spoken In Zimbabwe?". WorldAtlas. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Zero to sixteen in record time". The Economist. 2012-07-21. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "16 official languages for Zimbabwe". NewsDay Zimbabwe. 2012-07-21. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  5. ^ a b c Mambo, Alois S. (February 2000). ""Some Are More White Than Others": Racial Chauvinism As A Factor of Rhodesian Immigration Policy, 1890-1963". Zambezia. 27: 150 – via ResearchGate.
  6. ^ Vianna, Fernando de Mello (1979-06-17). The International Geographic Encyclopedia and Atlas. Springer. p. 646. ISBN 9781349050024.
  7. ^ "1979 Constitution No. 12, Rhodesia, Act to Provide for a New Constitution for Zimbabwe Rhodesia" (PDF). 1979. p. 360. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
  8. ^ a b "Shona". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  9. ^ "Shona | Penn Language Center". plc.sas.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  10. ^ Ethnologue's list of Shona (S.10) languages
  11. ^ "Manyika". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  12. ^ "Ndau". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  13. ^ "isiNdebele for beginners. Northern Ndebele language in Africa". www.northernndebele.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  14. ^ Malawian Writers and Their Country, edited by Bridgette Kasuka, published on Lulu.com, page 143[self-published source]
  15. ^ a b "Kunda". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
  16. ^ a b "Manyika". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
  17. ^ Ndhlovu, Finex (2009-01-01). The Politics of Language and Nation Building in Zimbabwe. Peter Lang. p. 54. ISBN 9783039119424.
  18. ^ Kamwangamalu, Nkonko; Baldauf, Richard B. Jr.; Kaplan, Robert B. (2016-04-08). Language Planning in Africa: The Cameroon, Sudan and Zimbabwe. Routledge. p. 220. ISBN 9781134916887.
  19. ^ Kadenge, Maxwell, D.Phil. (March 2010). "Some Segmental Phonological Processes Involving Vowels in Nambya: A Preliminary Descriptive Account" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ Dialogue, Radio. "Khosian Tshwao language in near extinction". Retrieved 2017-06-16. [permanent dead link]
  21. ^ "Daunting task in crafting San language syllabus". Southern Eye. 2014-05-14. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
  22. ^ Hlenze Welsh Kunju, 2017 "Isixhosa Ulwimi Lwabantu Abangesosininzi eZimbabwe: Ukuphila Nokulondolozwa Kwaso", PhD Dissertation, Rhodes University
  23. ^ "5 surprising facts about Afrikaans". News24. 2017-11-01. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  24. ^ "History of immigration from Zimbabwe". Immigration Museum, Melbourne. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  25. ^ Cross, Eddie (2014-03-04). "The Future of White Africans". Zimbabwe Situation. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  26. ^ a b c d e f g h i Sparks, Allister (1984-01-04). "15,000-Strong Afrikaner Community Finds Tolerance in Zimbabwe". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad Hendrich, Gustav (July 2013). ""Wees jouself": Afrikaner kultuurorganisasies in Rhodesië (1934-1980)" [“Be Yourself ”: Afrikaner cultural organizations in Rhodesia (1934- 1980)] (PDF). New Contree. 66.
  28. ^ "Reformed Churches". Religion in Zimbabwe. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  29. ^ "China's Influence in Africa Arouses Some Resistance". New York Times. February 10, 2007.
  30. ^ a b "The Dutch in Rhodesia". Andrew Cusack. 2016-12-02. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
  31. ^ a b c "Seminar: Why hundreds of Dutch emigrants chose Rhodesia-Zimbabwe as their new home". African Studies Centre Leiden. 2016-09-30. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
  32. ^ a b c d e f g h i j MacDonald, J. F. (1950). The War History of Southern Rhodesia 1939–1945. Vol. 2. Bulawayo: Books of Rhodesia. pp. 380–383. ISBN 9780869201404.
  33. ^ "Two West German Missionaries Slain in Rhodesia". The Washington Post. 1978-06-29. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
  34. ^ a b "Compensation for seized land 'an urgent issue', Germany tells Zimbabwe". News24. 2017-05-18. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
  35. ^ Hellenic Republic: Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Zimbabwe: The Greek Community May 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  36. ^ Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa 2013-08-16 at the Wayback Machine Holy Archbishopric of Zimbabwe
  37. ^ a b c d Marshall, Oliver (2015-02-25). "The last Indians of Masvingo, Zimbabwe". The World Elsewhere. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
  38. ^ a b "Gujarati boy from Zimbabwe shines in US". The Times of India. 2008-06-06. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
  39. ^ a b c d e f "India Zimbabwe relations". Retrieved 2015-05-30.
  40. ^ "Italian Chapel of St Francis of Assisi". Zimbabwe Field Guide. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
  41. ^ Delport, Anri (January 2013). "Changing attitudes of South Africans towards Italy and its people during the Second World War, 1939 to 1945". Historia. 58 – via The Historical Association of South Africa.
  42. ^ "Our Rhodesian Heritage: Memories of Number 1 Internment Camp Harare". Retrieved 2018-11-16.
  43. ^ Norman, Andrew (2004-02-08). Robert Mugabe and the Betrayal of Zimbabwe. McFarland. p. 130. ISBN 9780786416868.
  44. ^ Piotrowski, Tadeusz (2009-10-12). The Polish Deportees of World War II: Recollections of Removal to the Soviet Union and Dispersal Throughout the World. McFarland. p. 11. ISBN 9780786455362.
  45. ^ a b c d e Rupiah, Martin R. (1995). "The History of the Establishment of Internment Camps and Refugee Settlements in Southern Rhodesia, 1938-1952" (PDF). Zambezia. 22: 151–152.
  46. ^ a b c d "Pidgin Bantu". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  47. ^ a b c d e f g h i Murray, Paul (2010). Zimbabwe. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 143. ISBN 9781841622958.
  48. ^ a b c d e Magirosa, Maidei (2014-11-20). "Chilapalapa the colonial language of the oppressor". The Patriot. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
  49. ^ "The Chilapalapa Song Lyrics John Edmond". MOJIM. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
  50. ^ "Zimbabwe Sign Language". Glottolog. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  51. ^ American Sign Language at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)  
  52. ^ . Archived from the original on July 28, 2013. Retrieved May 31, 2013.

External links edit

  • Ethnologue report on languages of Zimbabwe

languages, zimbabwe, many, languages, spoken, historically, have, been, spoken, zimbabwe, since, adoption, 2013, constitution, zimbabwe, official, languages, namely, chewa, chibarwe, english, kalanga, koisan, nambya, ndau, ndebele, shangani, shona, sign, langu. Many languages are spoken or historically have been spoken in Zimbabwe Since the adoption of its 2013 Constitution Zimbabwe has 16 official languages namely Chewa Chibarwe English Kalanga Koisan Nambya Ndau Ndebele Shangani Shona sign language Sotho Tonga Tswana Venda Xhosa The country s main languages are Shona spoken by only 42 of the population and Ndebele spoken by roughly 39 English is the country s lingua franca used in government and business and as the main medium of instruction in schools English is the first language of most white Zimbabweans and is the second language of a majority of black Zimbabweans Historically a minority of white Zimbabweans spoke Afrikaans Greek Italian Polish and Portuguese among other languages while Gujarati and Hindi could be found amongst the country s Indian population Deaf Zimbabweans commonly use one of several varieties of Zimbabwean Sign Language with some using American Sign Language Zimbabwean language data is based on estimates as Zimbabwe has never conducted a census that enumerated people by language Languages of ZimbabweSign in English at Victoria Falls with the falls name in LoziOfficialChewa Chibarwe English Kalanga Koisan Nambya Ndau Ndebele Shangani Shona Sign Language Sotho Tonga Tswana Venda and XhosaMainShona 40 Northern Ndebele 35 English L1 lt 15 L2 89 1 VernacularChilapalapa Zimbabwean EnglishMinorityKunda Tsoa Tswa Lozi TjwaoImmigrantFrench Punjabi Hindi Afrikaans Chinese PortugueseSignedZimbabwean sign languages American Sign LanguageKeyboard layoutQWERTY US Contents 1 Official language status 2 Main languages 2 1 English 2 2 Shona 2 3 Ndebele 3 Other languages 3 1 Chewa 3 2 Chibarwe 3 3 Kalanga 3 4 Koisan 3 5 Kunda 3 6 Lozi 3 7 Manyika 3 8 Nambya 3 9 Ndau 3 10 Nsenga 3 11 Tsonga Shangani 3 12 Sotho 3 13 Tjwao 3 14 Tonga 3 15 Tswa 3 16 Tswana 3 17 Venda 3 18 Xhosa 4 Immigrant languages 4 1 Afrikaans 4 2 Chinese 4 3 Dutch 4 4 French 4 5 German 4 6 Greek 4 7 Gujarati 4 8 Hindi 4 9 Italian 4 10 Polish 4 11 Portuguese 5 Pidgin languages 5 1 Chilapalapa 6 Sign languages 7 See also 8 References 9 External linksOfficial language status editSince the adoption of the 2013 Constitution Zimbabwe has 16 official languages namely Chewa Chibarwe English Kalanga Koisan Nambya Ndau Ndebele Shangani Shona sign language Sotho Tonga Tswana Venda and Xhosa 2 3 4 Zimbabwe holds the Guinness World Record for the country with the largest number of official languages 2 Prior to independence in 1980 English had been the official language of Zimbabwe s antecedents since the arrival of white rule in the region During the Company rule period in the late 19th and early 20th centuries English was established as Rhodesia s official language by the British South Africa Company 5 In a 1918 letter written in response to an Afrikaner settler who complained about the Rhodesian policy of not allowing the teaching of Afrikaans in schools the secretary to the Administrator of Southern Rhodesia wrote that the official language of Southern Rhodesia has ever since the occupation of the country been English and no provision exists in the legislation of the territory for the recognition of a second official language 5 English remained the official language when Southern Rhodesia was established as a self governing Crown colony in 1923 During the UDI period from 1965 to 1979 English was retained as the official language of the unrecognised state of Rhodesia 6 Rhodesia s successor the short lived unrecognized state of Zimbabwe Rhodesia designated English the only official language of the country 7 Zimbabwe Rhodesia was succeeded by Zimbabwe in 1980 Zimbabwe s original constitution drafted in 1979 at the Lancaster House Agreement did not name any official languages 3 By the time the new 2013 constitution was being drafted English Shona and Ndebele had become the country s official languages 4 The Constitution requires that Zimbabwe equally promote each of its official languages including in schools and in government 2 Main languages editEnglish edit Main article Zimbabwean English Shona edit Shona is a Bantu language spoken by roughly 87 of Zimbabweans and is one of Zimbabwe s official languages 2 3 4 It is the traditional language of Zimbabwe s Shona people who live in Zimbabwe s central and eastern provinces Shona has a number of dialects including Karanga Korekore Manyika Ndau and Zezuru Standard Shona is derived from the Central Shona dialects especially Karanga and Zezuru 8 According to Ethnologue Shona is spoken by roughly 9 8 million people making it the most widely spoken Bantu language of Zimbabwe 8 The Manyika and Ndau dialects 9 are listed separately by Ethnologue 10 and are spoken by around 1 million 11 and 2 4 million people 12 respectively When Manyika and Ndau are added to the total Shona is spoken by over 14 million people There are over 80 000 Shona speakers in Botswana They are found mainly in the villages of Mmandunyane Tonota Francistown Selibe Phikwe Gaborone and other towns and villages in Botswana although Shona is not an official language in Botswana Ndebele edit The Northern Ndebele language also known simply as Ndebele is an Nguni Bantu language spoken by the Northern Ndebele people of Zimbabwe s Matabeleland region 13 The Ndebele language is closely related to the Zulu language of South Africa and developed in Zimbabwe in the 19th century when Zulus migrated to what is now Zimbabwe from the Zulu Kingdom in 1839 Today Ndebele is spoken by roughly about 13 of the population and is one of Zimbabwe s official languages 2 3 4 There is a small number of Ndebele speakers in the northeastern part of Botswana bordering Zimbabwe Ndebele however is not an official language in Botswana Other languages editChewa edit Chewa is a Bantu language spoken in northeastern Zimbabwe According to some estimates it is the third most widely spoken indigenous language in the country after Shona and Ndebele 14 self published source Chewa is one of Zimbabwe s official languages 2 3 4 Chibarwe edit Chibarwe also known as Sena is a Bantu language mainly found in Malawi and Mozambique with a small number of speakers in Zimbabwe Chibarwe is one of Zimbabwe s official languages 2 3 4 Kalanga edit Kalanga is a Bantu language spoken by the Kalanga people of northwestern Zimbabwe It is spoken by over 300 000 people and is one of Zimbabwe s official languages 2 3 4 Kalanga is spoken by over 300 000 people in Botswana The language is however not an official one Kalanga is predominantly in the North Eastern part of Botswana Koisan edit Koisan also known as Tshwa is a Khoe language that is one of Zimbabwe s official languages 2 3 4 Kunda edit Kunda is a Bantu language spoken in eastern Zimbabwe in the Mashonaland Central and Mashonaland West provinces 15 It was spoken by 145 000 people in Zimbabwe in 2000 15 Lozi edit Lozi a Bantu language spoken primarily in southwestern Zambia is spoken by roughly 70 000 Zimbabweans 2 There are over 30 000 Lozi Rotsi speakers in Botswana They are found mainly in Chobe district which comprises Kazungula Kasane and surrounding small settlements bordering Zimbabwe Namibia and Zambia Lozi is however not an official language in Botswana Manyika edit Manyika is in practice a dialect of Shona and is considered by all Zimbabweans to be Shona though it is officially listed as a separate language 2 It is spoken by the Manyika tribe of Zimbabwe s easternmost province Manicaland as well as in Mashonaland East Province 16 In 2000 it had an estimated 861 000 speakers in Zimbabwe 16 Nambya edit Nambya is a Bantu language spoken by the Nambya people of northwestern Zimbabwe particularly in the town of Hwange 17 18 It is closely related to the Kalanga language 19 It is spoken by nearly 100 000 people and is one of Zimbabwe s official languages 2 3 4 Ndau edit Ndau is a Bantu language often considered a dialect of Shona that is spoken by around 2 4 million people in southeastern Zimbabwe and central Mozambique It is one of Zimbabwe s official languages 2 3 4 Ndau is spoken in the southern of Zimbabwe Nsenga edit Nsenga also known as Senga is a Bantu language of Zimbabwe Zambia Malawi and Mozambique occupying an area on the plateau that forms the watershed between the Zambezi and Luangwa river systems and Western Malawi land overshadowing Kachebere mountain called Mchinji The urban form of Nyanja spoken in the Zambian capital Lusaka has many features of Nsenga Tsonga Shangani edit Shangani also known as Tsonga is a Bantu language spoken in southeastern Zimbabwe as well as in Eswatini Mozambique and South Africa It is one of Zimbabwe s official languages 2 3 4 Sotho edit Sotho also known as Sesotho is a Bantu language primarily spoken in South Africa and Lesotho with a small number of speakers in Zimbabwe It is one of Zimbabwe s official languages There is a small number of BaSotho in Botswana at a village called Tlhareseleele however it is not an official language in Botswana 2 3 4 Tjwao edit Tjwao formerly Tshwao is an endangered Khoe language spoken by fewer than 20 people in the Tsholotsho District of Zimbabwe all over 60 years of age 4 20 21 A slightly larger group of 100 have passive or partial knowledge of the language Tonga edit Tonga also known as Zambezi is a Bantu language spoken by 1 5 million people in southern Zambia and northern Zimbabwe It is primarily spoken by the Tonga people and is a second language for some Zimbabweans Tonga is one of Zimbabwe s official languages 2 3 4 Tswa edit Tswa Xitswa is a South Eastern Bantu language in Southern Mozambique Its closest relatives are Ronga and Tsonga the three forming the Tswa Ronga family of languages Tswana edit Tswana is a Bantu language that is one of Zimbabwe s official languages 2 3 4 Venda edit Venda is a Bantu language that is one of Zimbabwe s official languages It is spoken in the northern part of South Africa around Mesina whereas in Zimbabwe it s common in the southern area of the Limpopo river 2 3 4 Xhosa edit Xhosa is an Nguni Bantu language most commonly found in South Africa spoken by around 200 000 Zimbabweans a little over 1 of the population 22 Xhosa is one of Zimbabwe s official languages 2 3 4 Ishe Komborera Africa the former Zimbabwean national anthem was based on a Xhosa hymn A small population of Xhosa is found in Botswana at a village called Bikwe and at Xhosa ward in Mahalapye village Xhosa is not an official language in Botswana Immigrant languages editAfrikaans edit Afrikaans is spoken by a small minority of white Zimbabweans the number of whom has declined significantly since 1980 23 24 25 Afrikaans speakers in Zimbabwe are typically Afrikaner immigrants from South Africa or their descendants Afrikaners first arrived in what would become Southern Rhodesia in the early 1890s recruited to be among the first pioneers by Cecil Rhodes who sought to bring their agricultural expertise for the new region 26 27 They spread throughout the country taking up farming and cattle ranching 26 27 Afrikaners settled in rural areas outside towns and cities so they could sell their agricultural products 27 Bulawayo Enkeldoorn Umtali Salisbury and particularly Melsetter became Afrikaner population centers 27 Afrikaner children especially in rural areas were initially educated in Afrikaans 27 However following the Second Boer War British colonial authorities increasingly demanded that Afrikaner schools teach in English 27 Despite Afrikaner complaints the British South Africa Company which governed the territory until 1923 would not budge 5 27 In a letter written in response to protesting Afrikaners the secretary to the administrator of Southern Rhodesia wrote the laws of the country make no provision for Dutch teaching and even recently the Administrator has publicly stated that there is no prospect of change in the said laws 27 L M Foggin the colonial director of education warned in an official report I am convinced that if the concession of mother tongue instruction were allowed in the schools of Rhodesia it would result at once in Dutch districts in the teaching to the children of characteristic anti British and anti Imperial principles of the Nationalist party 27 In spite of this issue Afrikaners assimilated fairly well into the larger English speaking white population and were generally seen as loyal to the Southern Rhodesian government 26 27 Afrikaners preserved their language and culture through their own institutions 26 27 Dutch Reformed churches commonly conducted Afrikaans services in the morning followed by services in English and indigenous African languages in the afternoon 28 An Afrikaans language school Bothashof was established in 1911 in Bulawayo An Afrikaner organisation the Afrikaans Cultural Union of Rhodesia AKUR was established in 1934 and sought to preserve Afrikaner culture in Rhodesia particularly through creating an Afrikaans press and by promoting the Afrikaans language in schools 27 A printing press was acquired and AKUR began publishing Afrikaans daily newspapers and magazines including Zambesi Ringsblad Kern Die Rhodesier and Die Volksgenoot 27 Tension over language and cultural differences between Afrikaners and the English continued to exist coming to a head in 1944 when the so called Enkeldoorn incident in which an Afrikaner boy killed an English boy at the Enkeldoorn School made headlines 27 A commission investigating the incident found that the incident was motivated by language and cultural tensions which at the time were inflamed by World War II as many English suspected Afrikaners of having German sympathies 27 Nevertheless the Afrikaner population in Rhodesia continued to grow and more Afrikaner organisations were established including the Afrikaner Youth in 1947 and the Association of Rhodesian Afrikaners GRA in 1965 27 The GRA soon became the preeminent Afrikaner organisation in the country organising Afrikaner cultural activities and lobbying for greater Afrikaans language rights particularly in schools 27 By the late 1960s the Afrikaner population in Rhodesia had grown to 25 000 26 After the mid 1960s Afrikaners began to enter Rhodesian politics 27 Notable Afrikaner politicians during this period included several cabinet ministers Rowan Cronje P K van der Byl and Phillip van Heerden Though the Rhodesian government under premier Ian Smith was on better terms with Afrikaners than previous governments the issue of education remained 27 Bothashof which had relocated to Salisbury in 1946 remained the country s only Afrikaans medium school 27 In 1971 the Association of Rhodesian Afrikaners made an urgent call to the government demanding that they open more Afrikaans language schools but the government ignored them 27 The Afrikaner population in Rhodesia peaked at 35 000 in 1975 and began declining thereafter 27 As Afrikaners emigrated to South Africa Afrikaner organisations saw decline the GRA gradually became less active 27 In 1977 the Rhodesian Afrikaner Action Circle RAAK was established in Bulawayo and soon became the main Afrikaner organisation in the country 27 Kern and Die Rhodesier the two major Afrikaans newspapers in Rhodesia were edited by RAAK members 27 After Zimbabwe s independence in 1980 much of the country s Afrikaner population emigrated most to South Africa 26 The GRA was disestablished in the early 1980s 27 A new Afrikaner organisation the Afrikaner Community of Zimbabwe was founded in April 1981 in Harare 27 Bothashof the country s Afrikaans medium school saw its enrollment drop from 450 in 1980 to 160 in 1982 26 27 The school closed and reopened the next year as a multiracial English language school with an English headmaster marking an end to Afrikaans education in Zimbabwe 26 27 By 1984 just 15 000 Afrikaners remained in Zimbabwe a nearly 60 decline from ten years earlier 26 27 Chinese edit Chinese people in Zimbabwe are a small community that grew in size in the 2000s as an influx of Chinese shopkeepers settled in the country 29 it is estimated there are roughly around 10000 Chinese people living in the country Making it a sizable community Dutch edit A wave of Dutch speaking immigrants from the Netherlands moved to Southern Rhodesia in the 1950s 30 31 Many of them remained in Rhodesia after 1965 when the colony unilaterally declared independence under a white minority government as well as after Zimbabwe s independence in 1980 30 31 Many of them lost their farms during the country s land reform program in the early 2000s with some leaving the country and others remaining 31 French edit This section is empty You can help by adding to it January 2024 German edit German is spoken by a small minority of white Zimbabweans The language first arrived in Southern Rhodesia during World War II when the British set up five camps in the colony to hold thousands of Axis prisoners of war and internees mainly Italians and Germans 32 Two of these camps which opened in 1939 40 outside Salisbury accommodated roughly 800 German inmates who were former residents of Tanganyika 32 These prisoners were repatriated after war 32 By the 1970s a number of West German missionaries were present in Rhodesia In 1978 the year two German missionaries were killed amidst the Rhodesian Bush War it was reported that 30 German Jesuits were active in the country 33 In the years after Zimbabwe s independence in 1980 a number of German nationals took up farming in Zimbabwe 34 They were among those whose farms were confiscated during the land reform program in the early 2000s and left the country 34 Greek edit The Greeks in Zimbabwe comprise about 3 000 people of Greek origin almost half of them from the island of Cyprus 35 Zimbabwe currently hosts eleven Greek Orthodox churches and fifteen Greek associations and humanitarian organizations 36 Gujarati edit Gujarati is the traditional language of the majority of Zimbabwe s Indian population many of whom are descended from immigrants from Gujarat 37 38 The Indian presence in what is now Zimbabwe dates back to 1890 when Indian plantation workers emigrated from South Africa into Southern Rhodesia 39 Indian immigration was restricted in 1924 when Southern Rhodesia attained self government but the Indian community still grew Many Indian Zimbabweans left the country following the country s economic downturn that began around 2000 37 As of October 2016 an estimated 9 000 Zimbabwean citizens were of Indian origin mostly Gujarati 39 An additional 500 Indian citizens were residents in Zimbabwe at that time 39 as there was racial segregation during the colonial period Asians and Coloured people we allowed to intermarry resulting in many coloured people being also descendant of Gujarati and Hindi ethnic groups as well as to some extent afro Asian descendants Hindi edit Hindi is the traditional language of a minority of Zimbabwe s Indian population most of whom are of Gujarati rather than Hindustani origin 37 38 The Indian presence in what is now Zimbabwe dates back to 1890 when Indian plantation workers emigrated from South Africa into Southern Rhodesia 39 Indian immigration was restricted in 1924 when Southern Rhodesia attained self government but the Indian community still grew Many Indian Zimbabweans left the country following the country s economic downturn that began around 2000 37 As of October 2016 an estimated 9 000 Zimbabwean citizens were of Indian origin it is unclear how many of these if any are Hindi speakers 39 An additional 500 Indian citizens were residents in Zimbabwe at that time 39 Italian edit Italian is spoken by a small minority of white Zimbabweans The language first arrived in Southern Rhodesia during World War II when the British set up five camps in the colony to hold thousands of Axis prisoners of war and internees 32 Three of these camps set up in 1941 42 in Gatooma Umvuma and Fort Victoria accommodated roughly 5 000 Italians mostly from Somaliland and Ethiopia 32 After Italy s surrender in September 1943 the British began repatriating Italian internees and POWs sending them to Port Elizabeth South Africa where they were taken home by ship 40 41 Other Italians were not sent home but were simply let out of the camps and some of these chose to remain in Southern Rhodesia 42 Italian prisoners of War were also used in construction of the Castle next to the Leopard Rock Hotel in the 1920s By the early 2000s there was still a sizable Italian population in Zimbabwe 43 Polish edit Polish is spoken by a small minority of white Zimbabweans The language first arrived in Southern Rhodesia during World War II when the colony hosted nearly 7 000 refugees from Poland 32 Polish refugees were housed at dedicated settlements set up at Marandellas and Rusape two towns about 40 km 25 mi apart to the south east of Salisbury from 1943 The Polish settlements in Southern Rhodesia were run jointly by local authorities and the Polish consulate in Salisbury the Polish government in exile in London provided funding Polish language schools and churches were built for the refugees 44 After the Polish government in exile discontinued its operations and closed its consulate in 1944 the Polish refugees were increasingly viewed as a burden by the Southern Rhodesian government 45 A few began being sent home in May 1944 45 and transport back to Europe picked up sharply as the war came to a close with less than 2 000 Polish refugees remaining by October 1945 32 Colonial officials were reluctant to let the remaining Poles stay in Southern Rhodesia indefinitely asserting that they were not culturally British enough and might have communist connections or sympathies 32 Additionally the Poles were seen as lacking the skills and education that would allow them to compete against blacks in a free market 45 Despite these concerns most of the Poles who remained showed little inclination to leave 32 By 1947 when the Rhodesian government offered repatriation to the remaining 1 282 Poles in the colony only two women agreed 45 Despite pressure from the British government and the United Nations Refugee Programme the Rhodesian government agreed to accept only 726 Poles as permanent residents the bare minimum to meet the 10 per nationality required by international law 32 45 Portuguese edit This section is empty You can help by adding to it January 2024 Pidgin languages editChilapalapa edit Chilapalapa also known as Fanagalo 46 was a pidgin language used as a lingua franca between whites Asians and blacks during the colonial period 47 Like its South African cousin Fanagalo it was primarily spoken in the mining sector on white owned farms and in larger settlements 46 47 According to one source 60 of Chilapalapa vocabulary is of Ndebele origin 20 from English 10 from Shona 5 from Afrikaans and 5 from Chewa citation needed Other sources describes the language as having primarily Shona influence rather than Ndebele 46 47 48 Fanagalo originated in the 19th century in South Africa and Chilapalapa which is closely related developed as whites began settling in Southern Rhodesia 47 As the majority of blacks at that time lacked education and the ability to speak English Chilapalapa became a common lingua franca used by whites and Asians to communicate with blacks and vice versa usually in the context of work environment 47 Blacks who spoke Chilapalapa generally lacked formal education and often did not speak English 47 Additionally whites often demanded that blacks speak to them in Chilapalapa not wanting to speak with them in English as it might imply an equal status among the races 48 Because it was often used demeaningly by whites blacks often associated Chilapalapa with racism and colonialism 47 48 In contrast whites viewed Chilapalapa more positively even celebrating it as a unique facet of Rhodesian culture The Rhodesian folk singer John Edmond recorded The Chilapalapa Song 49 and newsreader and comedian Wrex Tarr routinely used Chilapalapa in his performances 48 Though Chilapalapa was a widespread second language in Rhodesia with several hundred thousand speakers in 1975 46 it was never commonly spoken outside work environments 47 It was used in towns and in the farming and mining sectors and was especially common in the Mashonaland region but was never taught in schools or used in any official contexts citation needed Written Chilapalapa literature was rare citation needed Because of its lack of use in schools and formal contexts and due to its negative association with colonialism use of Chilapalapa virtually disappeared after Zimbabwe s independence after 1980 48 Today Chilapalapa is heard only occasionally being spoken between older white and blacks 47 A 2018 survey of white farm owners Asian store owners and young black teachers born after independence found wide disparities in knowledge of and attitudes toward Chilapalapa citation needed Among those surveyed who grew up before independence all were proficient in Chilapalapa Among those born after independence none could speak Chilapalapa though most had heard of it Attitudes towards the language differed largely across racial lines Most whites and Asians surveyed saw Chilapalapa as a useful lingua franca while blacks viewed it as a symbol of racism and colonialism citation needed Sign languages editMain article Zimbabwean sign languages Alongside numerous oral languages sign languages are also used in Zimbabwe Sign languages in Southern Rhodesia first developed independently among deaf students in different schools for the deaf beginning in the 1940s It is unclear how many sign languages there are in Zimbabwe and to what extent each is used as little research has been done The Glottolog a language database maintained by the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany lists seven varieties of indigenous Zimbabwean sign language Manicaland Sign Mashonaland Sign Masvingo School Sign Matabeleland Sign Midlands Sign Zimbabwe Community Sign and Zimbabwe School Sign 50 American Sign Language is also reportedly used though it is not clear to what extent 51 Sign language without further specificity became one of Zimbabwe s official languages in the 2013 Constitution 52 See also editLanguages of Africa Bantu languagesReferences edit Literacy rate adult total of people ages 15 and above Zimbabwe Data a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Pariona Amber 2017 04 25 What Languages Are Spoken In Zimbabwe WorldAtlas Retrieved 2018 11 15 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Zero to sixteen in record time The Economist 2012 07 21 Retrieved 2018 11 13 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 16 official languages for Zimbabwe NewsDay Zimbabwe 2012 07 21 Retrieved 2018 11 13 a b c Mambo Alois S February 2000 Some Are More White Than Others Racial Chauvinism As A Factor of Rhodesian Immigration Policy 1890 1963 Zambezia 27 150 via ResearchGate Vianna Fernando de Mello 1979 06 17 The International Geographic Encyclopedia and Atlas Springer p 646 ISBN 9781349050024 1979 Constitution No 12 Rhodesia Act to Provide for a New Constitution for Zimbabwe Rhodesia PDF 1979 p 360 Retrieved 2018 11 12 a b Shona Ethnologue Retrieved 2018 11 18 Shona Penn Language Center plc sas upenn edu Retrieved 2018 11 18 Ethnologue s list of Shona S 10 languages Manyika Ethnologue Retrieved 2018 11 18 Ndau Ethnologue Retrieved 2018 11 18 isiNdebele for beginners Northern Ndebele language in Africa www northernndebele blogspot com Retrieved 2018 11 18 Malawian Writers and Their Country edited by Bridgette Kasuka published on Lulu com page 143 self published source a b Kunda Ethnologue Retrieved 2018 11 17 a b Manyika Ethnologue Retrieved 2018 11 17 Ndhlovu Finex 2009 01 01 The Politics of Language and Nation Building in Zimbabwe Peter Lang p 54 ISBN 9783039119424 Kamwangamalu Nkonko Baldauf Richard B Jr Kaplan Robert B 2016 04 08 Language Planning in Africa The Cameroon Sudan and Zimbabwe Routledge p 220 ISBN 9781134916887 Kadenge Maxwell D Phil March 2010 Some Segmental Phonological Processes Involving Vowels in Nambya A Preliminary Descriptive Account PDF a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Dialogue Radio Khosian Tshwao language in near extinction Retrieved 2017 06 16 permanent dead link Daunting task in crafting San language syllabus Southern Eye 2014 05 14 Retrieved 2017 06 16 Hlenze Welsh Kunju 2017 Isixhosa Ulwimi Lwabantu Abangesosininzi eZimbabwe Ukuphila Nokulondolozwa Kwaso PhD Dissertation Rhodes University 5 surprising facts about Afrikaans News24 2017 11 01 Retrieved 2018 11 14 History of immigration from Zimbabwe Immigration Museum Melbourne Retrieved 2018 11 15 Cross Eddie 2014 03 04 The Future of White Africans Zimbabwe Situation Retrieved 2018 11 15 a b c d e f g h i Sparks Allister 1984 01 04 15 000 Strong Afrikaner Community Finds Tolerance in Zimbabwe The Washington Post Retrieved 2018 11 14 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad Hendrich Gustav July 2013 Wees jouself Afrikaner kultuurorganisasies in Rhodesie 1934 1980 Be Yourself Afrikaner cultural organizations in Rhodesia 1934 1980 PDF New Contree 66 Reformed Churches Religion in Zimbabwe 11 March 2011 Retrieved 2018 11 15 China s Influence in Africa Arouses Some Resistance New York Times February 10 2007 a b The Dutch in Rhodesia Andrew Cusack 2016 12 02 Retrieved 2018 11 16 a b c Seminar Why hundreds of Dutch emigrants chose Rhodesia Zimbabwe as their new home African Studies Centre Leiden 2016 09 30 Retrieved 2018 11 16 a b c d e f g h i j MacDonald J F 1950 The War History of Southern Rhodesia 1939 1945 Vol 2 Bulawayo Books of Rhodesia pp 380 383 ISBN 9780869201404 Two West German Missionaries Slain in Rhodesia The Washington Post 1978 06 29 Retrieved 2018 11 16 a b Compensation for seized land an urgent issue Germany tells Zimbabwe News24 2017 05 18 Retrieved 2018 11 16 Hellenic Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs Zimbabwe The Greek Community Archived May 7 2008 at the Wayback Machine Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa Archived 2013 08 16 at the Wayback Machine Holy Archbishopric of Zimbabwe a b c d Marshall Oliver 2015 02 25 The last Indians of Masvingo Zimbabwe The World Elsewhere Retrieved 2018 11 16 a b Gujarati boy from Zimbabwe shines in US The Times of India 2008 06 06 Retrieved 2018 11 16 a b c d e f India Zimbabwe relations Retrieved 2015 05 30 Italian Chapel of St Francis of Assisi Zimbabwe Field Guide Retrieved 2018 11 16 Delport Anri January 2013 Changing attitudes of South Africans towards Italy and its people during the Second World War 1939 to 1945 Historia 58 via The Historical Association of South Africa Our Rhodesian Heritage Memories of Number 1 Internment Camp Harare Retrieved 2018 11 16 Norman Andrew 2004 02 08 Robert Mugabe and the Betrayal of Zimbabwe McFarland p 130 ISBN 9780786416868 Piotrowski Tadeusz 2009 10 12 The Polish Deportees of World War II Recollections of Removal to the Soviet Union and Dispersal Throughout the World McFarland p 11 ISBN 9780786455362 a b c d e Rupiah Martin R 1995 The History of the Establishment of Internment Camps and Refugee Settlements in Southern Rhodesia 1938 1952 PDF Zambezia 22 151 152 a b c d Pidgin Bantu Ethnologue Retrieved 2018 11 18 a b c d e f g h i Murray Paul 2010 Zimbabwe Bradt Travel Guides p 143 ISBN 9781841622958 a b c d e Magirosa Maidei 2014 11 20 Chilapalapa the colonial language of the oppressor The Patriot Retrieved 2018 11 17 The Chilapalapa Song Lyrics John Edmond MOJIM Retrieved 2018 11 17 Zimbabwe Sign Language Glottolog Retrieved 2018 11 13 American Sign Language at Ethnologue 16th ed 2009 nbsp Downloads Constitution of Zimbabwe Archived from the original on July 28 2013 Retrieved May 31 2013 External links editEthnologue report on languages of Zimbabwe Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Languages of Zimbabwe amp oldid 1217756820, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.