Author: Alec J.C. Pongweni, Emmanuel M. Chiwome
ISBN No: 1-919932-73-6
Cost: 280.44
“This book is a collection of 3248 pithy sayings in Shona, both traditional and modern, that have been compiled and listed together with the English translations in individual sections for proverbs, idioms, similes and other figurative expressions. These sections correspond with the individual chapters, while Ndau sayings and expressions are listed in their own chapters, separately from the other dialects that are collectively referred to as Standard Shona. The collection is preceded by a general introductory chapter and a second chapter that discusses types and functions of figurative language in general and continuation of the creativity that is still producing them today. The main part of the book comprises the lists in the middle chapters. The concluding chapter is an essay on the structure, function and meaning of ideophones in the Shona language. In this collection, there is something for everyone. Serious scholars will find something to engage their minds while casual readers will also find sections that are light reading but still trigger their imaginations. The authors have succeeded admirably in their three main aims – collecting and recording for posterity; explaining and illustrating various forms of figurative language; and showing continuity of the tradition and the creativity that produced the old stock of sayings the Shona speakers have inherited from their ancestors and which they continue to use to produce many more such sayings in modern Shona society.”
ISBN No: 1-919932-73-6
Cost: 280.44
“This book is a collection of 3248 pithy sayings in Shona, both traditional and modern, that have been compiled and listed together with the English translations in individual sections for proverbs, idioms, similes and other figurative expressions. These sections correspond with the individual chapters, while Ndau sayings and expressions are listed in their own chapters, separately from the other dialects that are collectively referred to as Standard Shona. The collection is preceded by a general introductory chapter and a second chapter that discusses types and functions of figurative language in general and continuation of the creativity that is still producing them today. The main part of the book comprises the lists in the middle chapters. The concluding chapter is an essay on the structure, function and meaning of ideophones in the Shona language. In this collection, there is something for everyone. Serious scholars will find something to engage their minds while casual readers will also find sections that are light reading but still trigger their imaginations. The authors have succeeded admirably in their three main aims – collecting and recording for posterity; explaining and illustrating various forms of figurative language; and showing continuity of the tradition and the creativity that produced the old stock of sayings the Shona speakers have inherited from their ancestors and which they continue to use to produce many more such sayings in modern Shona society.”
