Shona is a Bantu language spoken by the Shona people of Zimbabwe and Mozambique, used to describe either all the Central Shonic varieties or specifically Standard Shona, a variety codified in the mid-20th century.
Facts
ISO 639-3 Code Speaker Count2010-2023 estimate, first-language speakers (4.5 million second-language speakers, 2023; 14 million total). StatusWikipedia article on Shona: a currently spoken living language with an active native-speaker population; checked 2026-09-27. Classification
Language Kind Official Status Connections
In Family
Source Wikipedia: Shona Language
Written In
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. Glottolog: Shona (Glottolog languoid shon1251)
GlottologEndangerment, AES statusQuote, Endangerment, AES status
AES status: not endangered
2. Wikipedia: Shona Language
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
Shona ( SHOH-nə; endonym: chiShona [tʃiʃona]) is a Bantu language spoken by the Shona people of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The term is variously used to collectively describe all the Central Shonic varieties (comprising Zezuru, Manyika, Korekore and Karanga or Ndau) or specifically Standard Shona, a variety codified in the mid-20th century.
Infobox: iso2
sna
Infobox: speakers2
L2: million (2023) Total: million (2010-2023)
Infobox, Region
Southern Africa
Phonology
Shona has two tones, a high and a low tone, but these tones are not indicated in the standard writing system.
Infobox, Official language in
Zimbabwe
In Family: Bantu, Infobox, Language family
Top family: Niger-Congo; immediate branch: Bantu (Southern Bantu, Shona languages S.10 grouping).
View the Source 3. WALS Online: Datapoint Shona / Order of Subject, Object and Verb
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