Shona
Shona ( SHOH-nə; endonym: chiShona [tʃiʃona]) is a Bantu language spoken by the Shona people of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The term is variously used to collectively describe all the Central Shonic varieties (comprising Zezuru, Manyika, Korekore and Karanga or Ndau) or specifically Standard Shona, a variety codified in the mid-20th century. By the broader definition, the language is spoken by over 14 million people. The larger group of historically related languages—called Shona or Shonic languages by linguists—also includes Ndau (Eastern Shona) and Kalanga (Western Shona). In Guthrie's classification of Bantu languages, zone S.10 designates the Shonic group.
Translate in Shona ↗Shona ( SHOH-nə; endonym: chiShona [tʃiʃona]) is a Bantu language spoken by the Shona people of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The term is variously used to collectively describe all the Central Shonic varieties (comprising Zezuru, Manyika, Korekore and Karanga or Ndau) or specifically Standard Shona, a variety codified in the mid-20th century. By the broader definition, the language is spoken by over 14 million people. The larger group of historically related languages—called Shona or Shonic languages by linguists—also includes Ndau (Eastern Shona) and Kalanga (Western Shona). In Guthrie's classification of Bantu languages, zone S.10 designates the Shonic group.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Present-day use
The captured source does not contain a separate current-use account.
Origins
The captured article does not contain a separate origins section. See the historical account and linked source.
Development
The captured article does not contain a distinct historical account. No chronology has been invented.
Writing
Latin or customary script (catalog classification; see the source for context).
Beyond the typeface.
Signs, manuscripts, published pages and contextual photographs, with their place, period, source and reuse terms. Captions identify historical spellings, regional examples, community references and character imagery.
Historical printed prayer headed “SHONA” in The Lord’s Prayer in Five Hundred Languages, printed page 135. The Commons record dates the compilation to 1905; this copy also contains a publisher note dated June 1908. Orthography and translation reflect the historical source, not a modern usage standard. Other languages appear on the same page. The source includes period terminology and editorial annotations; these are historical evidence, not Babelbook’s current terminology or claims.
Saved in Babelbook · resized display copy. Select the image to open it independently of its source.
Reinhold Rost (compiler); Gilbert & Rivington / Wm. Clowes & Sons (publishers); Internet Archive scan · Source ↗Public domain ↗View the local visual field note
Representative reference points from Glottolog. Historical entries show reference locations, not current speakers. 1 point.
Reference & context ↗Babelbook · original editorial illustration · CC BY 4.0 · Glottolog locations; public-domain Natural Earth land
Source excerpts, selected, shortened and where noted editorially corrected from Shona language by Wikipedia contributors. Retrieved 2026-10-05. CC BY-SA 4.0. These excerpts are not an independently verified scholarly history; missing accounts are identified above.