Language/Shona/Grammar/Gender

Shona Grammar - Gender

Hi Shona learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about gender in Shona language. Gender is an important feature in Shona that affects nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and even agreement markers.

Don't miss the chance to check out these pages as you wrap up this lesson: Descriptive Adjectives & Conditional Mood.

What is gender in Shona?

In Shona, gender is a grammatical category that classifies nouns into four categories: the masculine, feminine, diminutive, and augmentative. Gender is important because it affects the way words are modified and constructed in sentences in Shona.

Gender classes

Shona has four gender classes:

Masculine Gender (ravaro)

This is the gender class that is mostly associated with male persons, objects, and animals. Nouns in this class include wakadzi (man), bhero (bull), and tandara (iron).

Feminine Gender (rave)

The feminine gender class is mostly associated with female persons, objects, and animals. Nouns in this class include mukadzi (woman), mbudzi (goat), and mhanzi (horse).

Augmentative Gender (rahu)

The augmentative gender class is used to refer to large, heavy or important objects, animals, or persons. Nouns in this class include chitova (elephant), mapurisa (police officers), and chitongwizo (king).

Diminutive Gender (radiki)

The diminutive gender class is used to refer to small or young animals, objects, or persons. This class includes musana (young person), gotsi (calf), and mhuru (chicken).

How to identify gender in Shona

Usually, in Shona, the gender of a noun can be identified by the prefix that precedes it, as well as the tone of the word.

Shona	Pronunciation	English
murume (masculine)	m̩ɔrʊme	man
shamwari (feminine)	ʃamwari	female friend
chikafu (masculine)	t͡ʃɪkafu	food
nyama (feminine)	ɲama	meat
huni (diminutive)	hʊni	small grain
huge (augmentative)	hʊge	huge rock

Agreement markers

In Shona, agreement markers agree with the noun class of the subject of the sentence. The agreement markers are prefixes added to the verb and adjectives. For example:

• Murume a-rimwe (The man is one)
• Muroyi a-one? (Who is he/she?)

Here, the prefix a- is added to the verb to agree with the noun class.

Culture and interesting facts

In Shona culture, gender plays a significant role in many aspects of life. For example, in traditional Shona society, male and female roles were clearly defined. Men were expected to hunt, farm, and build, while women were expected to cook, take care of children, and perform other domestic duties. However, with modernization, these societal roles have begun to change.

Another interesting fact about Shona gender is the use of gender-neutral pronouns. In modern times, some Shona people have begun to use the pronoun "wo" instead of the traditional gendered pronouns. This change is still controversial in Shona society.

Examples

Here are some examples of a dialogue in Shona to illustrate gender:

• Person 1: Makorokoto, murume. (Congratulations, man)
• Person 2: Ndaita hwo? (What did I do?)
• Person 1: Uchadya chikafu. (You will eat food)

Conclusion

In conclusion, gender is an important aspect of the Shona language. It affects the way we construct sentences, modify words and interpret meanings. To improve your understanding of Shona gender, try speaking with native Shona speakers on Polyglot Club!

Sources

• Shona Grammar - Gender

Upon wrapping up this lesson, take a look at these related pages: 0 to A1 Course & How to Use Have.

Other Lessons

• How to Use Have
• Adjectives
• How to Use Be
• Give your Opinion
• Pronouns
• Negation
• Plurals
• Questions
• Conditional Mood