I know this has been done before. But this time it’s about ME ! So it’s different.
I am trying to learn Shona, my husband’s native tribal language. It’s spoken by about 10 million people worldwide, seven million of whom are in Africa. The only ones in my area that I know are my husband and a few of his friends (who speak it loudly, simultaneously, and very quickly, to each other). It’s mostly a spoken language: I won’t find much to read in it, nor will I be likely to have to write it.
There aren’t things like Shona-English dictionaries or classes or anything like that. Berlitz type places really haven’t embraced the market yet, it seems. I do, however, have two little books intended for tourists. In the two days since I got my books I have driven him crazy - “How do you say this?” “How about this?” “What does this mean?” “How come the negative ends with ‘si’ and the positive ends with ‘ri’?” And so on.
I’m carrying around little flash cards with English on one side and Shona on the other and saying them aloud to myself. This technique has helped me learn to conjugate a few verbs but I feel its usefulness will be limited.
So, what can I do to balance my learning with my husband’s sanity?
Same way you get to Carnegie Hall: practice, practice, practice.
Obviously, as a learner of a less-commonly taught language, you’re at a disadvantage. No tapes, few books, few classes though CARLA does list a few). You’ll pretty much be left to learning from the native speakers around you. I’m assuming there aren’t many Shona movies or TV shows that would be available to you. Is there any Shona music you could buy on CD?
Would a trip to Zimbabwe be completely out of the question? Usually the fastest and best way to learn a language is total immersion – having to use that language 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You’ll pick it up for sheer survival, if nothing else.
Btw: I googled and found a few websites you might find useful.
Are there dictionaries into other languages than English (French or German, maybe), and/or do you speak any of these other languages Immersion is the way to go, of course, but it’s frustrating as hell not to be able to look up a word or two.
hey, wow, thanks guys ! It’s amazing how many on-line resources there are for a language that’s spoken by so few. I’m really surprised that Amazon has so many !
Eva: yes, for some reason there’s a Shona-German dictionary available. Maybe in conjunction with a German-English one … owww, my poor brain !
Music: yes, there is a bit of it available (and it’s gorgeous, check out Forward Kwenda and Stella Chiweshe, it’s breathtaking !).
I am going to Zimbabwe sometime in the future: I want to learn the language before I get there because I know my in-laws will be talking about me and I want to know what they are saying !
Other problem is the one I had trying to learn Portuguese in Brazil: everyone’s English was much better than my Portuguese (and will be substantially better than Shona: English is spoken by most Zimbabweans) so everyone just spoke English to me. Boo.
Thanks again for the sites: is anyone interested in learning Shona with me?