Object marking restrictions on Shona causative and applicative constructions

Bantu languages, Shona included, are well noted for their agreement systems that morphologically mark grammatical relations in the verbal structure in the form of subject and object agreement. While researchers agree that subject-verb agreement is obligatory and co-occurs with subject pro-drop, object marking is more ambiguous and widely treated as pronominal. This article focuses on the restrictions that characterise object marking in relation to causatives and applicatives in Shona, looking particularly at double objecthood that is characteristic of these constructions. This article argues that there are various kinds of restrictions that object marking exhibit, namely, the restrictions as to which of the two objects can attract a corresponding object marker, the co-occurrence restrictions of the object marker with either of the objects in causative and applicative constructions, the morphosyntactic implications of such restrictions, and passivisation possibilities – where we argue that passives block object marking; and also that subjectivising the theme is blocked in both causative and applicative constructions. The objective of this article is to contribute to accounting for variations of the object dropping phenomenon.Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2013, 31(2): 151–16

The semantics of depictive secondary predication in chiShona

This article describes chiShona verb meaning using the event-based semantics approach. The analysis adopted in this article is couched within the framework first introduced by Davidson and then developed by many other scholars including Parsons, Dowty, Rapoport, Landman and Rothstein. The main aim is to have an appreciation of secondary predication as one way of dealing with verb semantics. This outline will use chiShona to show what true depictives are and how they behave, as well as proving that certain features of depictives, highlighted in literature, are not found in other languages of the world. It will be argued that in the chiShona language the subject and object orientation of the depictives is influenced by the overt agreement marking system. While in other languages, like English, it is argued that object-oriented depictives of activity verbs are ungrammatical, chiShona provides evidence as one of the languages where both subjectoriented and object-oriented depictives are grammatical. The arguments raised here inform future work on chiShona semantics and event semantics in general

The current politics of African languages in Zimbabwe

he Zimbabwean sociolinguistic situation has for long been dogged by the lack of a holistic and well-articulated language policy. This situation is not peculiar to Zimbabwe, but common throughout Africa. This article examines the implications and complications of the new constitutionally enshrined national language policy in Zimbabwe. To a larger extent, the new policy is a result of protracted activism by minority ethno-linguistic communities in Zimbabwe. However, the shift from recognising three official languages to sixteen would be an end itself if stakeholders do not proactively engage with the policy and develop effective strategies for successful implementation. Adequate financial resources, political will and stakeholder buy-in are needed for the successful implementation of this policy. This article maps the way forward for Zimbabwe’s language policy and planning efforts

Linguistic strategies used by the Ministry of Health and Childcare in Zimbabwe to sensitise citizens on COVID-19

This study explores the use of Shona and English in COVID-19 pandemic adverts by the Ministry of Health and Child Care in Zimbabwe. Specifically, the research establishes and explains the significance of linguistic strategies which were used by the Ministry of Health and Child Care when disseminating information to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection, spread and management in the print media. The purpose of the study is to demonstrate that language use in this context is an act of cognitive manipulation where the reader is strategically coerced to take up the message. The study is a qualitative research enterprise and it used document analysis as the method of data collection. Data is analysed using Discourse Analysis and conceptual metaphor theory. The study established that the Ministry of Health and Child Care employed metaphors, slang, code switching, interrogatives, translation and borrowing to guide interpretation and conceptualisation of information in their adverts. The study concludes that by using these devices, the ministry exploits shared knowledge and then appeals to cognition through interrogatives to subtly garner support, manipulate opinion and manufacture compliance through the adverts

Code-switching among chiShona-English bilinguals in courtroom discourse: Rape cases in Zimbabwe

As has become the norm in bilingual situations, code-switching in both formal and informal contexts has increased recognition as a verbal mode of communication. This article presents a parsimonious exegesis of the patterns and functions of code-switching in the courtroom discourse of chiShona-English bilinguals. Data were obtained from court transcripts and observations of interlocutors during courtroom sessions. The data were analysed using content analysis of transcripts, noting the patterns and circumstances leading to each switch. Our findings show that the motivations for code-switching during a trial are inter alia to negotiate, organise, circumvent, enrich and to enhance speech. The argument we proffer here supports the view that language reflects social structure as indicated by the reasons why some communities made some switches along gender lines and professional status, for instance. As there are few descriptive and theoretical studies on code-switching involving African (indigenous) languages of Zimbabwe, this research recommends more studies on this subject