Linguistic variation in Shona with special reference to monolingual dictionaries*

This article focuses on the problems lexicographers of monolingual dictionaries face when dealing with a language characterised by differences associated with geographical variation. The article specifically seeks to explore problems with which Shona lexicographers are confronted when working on monolingual Shona dictionaries. It does so by looking at some lexicographic aspects such as tone marking, sense ordering and treatment of synonyms and variants. Linguistic variation has always been a problem for writers of reference works, especially those normative in nature and function. The challenge is that of representativeness, that is, the production of a work which incorporates all the information it is supposed to provide. If the work fails to represent the language of the total population it is assumed to cover, then it is prone to criticism, usually by those whose dialect is not well represented. The article contains the writer's experience in the Afri-can Languages Lexical (ALLEX) Project, at present the African Languages Research Institute (ALRI). The ALRI, accommodated at the University of Zimbabwe, has the compilation of monolin-gual dictionaries for the indigenous languages of Zimbabwe as one of its major objectives. Al-though illustrative examples are drawn from Shona alone, it is, however, believed that the prob-lems highlighted in this article may not be peculiar to Shona, but can also apply to other Bantu and world languages. Keywords: allex project, alri, corpus, dialect, monolingual lexicogra-phy, shona, subdialect, synonym, tone, variant, variatio

To Call or Not to Call a Spade a Spade: The Dilemma of Treating 'Offensive' Terms in "Duramazwi Guru reChiShona*"

As noted by Béjoint (2000: 6), the main objective in dictionary-making is to define words and terms. This is especially the case if the fact is accepted that dictionaries are mostly con-sulted for word meaning and that, in the consultation process, the user hopes to acquire and/or verify certain information. However, as again noted by Jackson (1988), Landau (1984), Svénsen (1993) and Zgusta (1971), among others, the description of word meaning is one of the greatest difficulties with which the lexicographer has to cope. This article discusses some of the challenges facing lexicographers when defining 'offensive' headwords in a monolingual dictionary. It is based on experiences of defining such headwords for the general-purpose, medium-sized, synchronic, monolingual Shona dictionary, Duramazwi Guru reChiShona (henceforth DGC) (Chimhundu et al. 2001). DGC was compiled and edited by a six-member team of mother-tongue speakers of Shona who are researchers at the African Languages Research Institute (ALRI). The article also discusses some of the strategies the team of editors adopted as ways of dealing with offensive words in DGC. One such strategy is the use of euphemism in defining. Keywords: alri, culture, definition, theoretical definition, practical definition, dictionary, euphemism, lexicography, monolingual diction-ary, offensive headword, shon

Field performance of spider plant (Cleome gynandra l) under different agronomic practices

Field experiments were carried out at Kaguvi Vocational Training Centre located in theMidlands province of Zimbabwe, to determine the effect of planting date and fertilizertypes in enhancing the productivity of spider plant, an indigenous leafy vegetable. Theexperimental design was a split- plot arranged in a randomized complete block design(RCBD) with three blocks. The planting date was the main plot with three levels(15/10/12, 30/01/13 and 15/02/13) and the fertilizer treatments as the subplots withseven levels including a control (no fertilizer applied), 20 t/ha cattle manure, 30 t/hacattle manure, 5 t/ha poultry manure, 10 t/ha poultry manure, 300 kg/ha Compound D +100 kg/ha ammonium nitrate and 300 kg/ha Compound D + 150 kg/ha ammoniumnitrate). Growth parameters, vitamin A and C, crude protein, iron content, fresh and dryyield were significantly (p<0.05) increased by use of organic and inorganic fertilizersacross all planting dates compared to the control where no fertilizers were added. TheOctober 2012 planting date, combined with high rates of organic and inorganicfertilizers had the best response with regards to the variables measured, including theduration of the harvest period which was nine weeks, compared to the January andFebruary planting dates where harvesting was for six weeks. The inorganic fertilizersprovided readily available nutrients for uptake by the plants while the long productionperiod for the October 2012 planting date enabled the organic manures (cattle andpoultry manure) adequate time to release the nutrients for uptake, compared to theJanuary 2013 and February 2013 planting dates. It can be concluded that there is meritin staggering the planting dates while using organic and inorganic fertilizers as thepractice results in an extended harvest period. High rates of both inorganic and organicfertilizers are recommended for the different planting dates as follows; 30 t/ha cattlemanure, 10 t/ha poultry manure, 300 kg/ha Compound D + 100 kg/ha ammoniumnitrate and 300 kg/ha Compound D + 150 kg/ha ammonium nitrate.Key words: Indigenous vegetable, spider plant, planting dates, fertilizers, nutrient

How Can Programs Better Support Female Sex Workers to Avoid HIV Infection in Zimbabwe? A Prevention Cascade Analysis

BACKGROUND: “HIV prevention cascades” have been proposed to support programs by identifying gaps in demand for, access to, and capability to adhere to HIV prevention tools, but there are few empirical examples to guide development. We apply a prevention cascade framework to examine prevention coverage and factors associated with condoms and/or PrEP adherence among female sex workers. SETTING: Seven sites across Zimbabwe. METHODS: Seven respondent-driven sampling surveys from the intervention sites of a pragmatic cluster-randomized trial in Zimbabwe in 2016 were analyzed, and 611/1439 women testing HIV-negative included. We operationalized key components of an HIV prevention cascade including demand, supply, and capability to adhere to 2 tools for HIV prevention: condoms and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). We used adjusted logistic regression to identify determinants of adherence to condoms and PrEP in turn, examining the effect of adherence to one tool on adherence to the other. RESULTS: There were 343/611, 54.7%, women reporting adherence to condoms and/or PrEP, leaving almost half uncovered. Although women were aware that condoms prevented HIV and reported good access to them, only 45·5% reported full adherence to condom use. For PrEP, a new technology, there were gaps along all 3 domains of demand, supply, and adherence. Alcohol use decreased adherence to PrEP and condoms. Younger and newer entrants to sex work were less likely to take PrEP every day. CONCLUSIONS: HIV prevention programming among female sex workers in Zimbabwe could consider increasing awareness of PrEP alongside supply, alcohol use interventions, and approaches to engaging younger women