Target Users' Expectations versus the Actual Compilation of a Shona Children's Dictionary

Abstract

Abstract:The article discusses the challenges that confronted the team of compilers working on the monolingual Shona Children's Dictionary (henceforth SCD). It looks at the active involvement of the target users in shaping the project and discusses the considerations for the implementation of their recommendations. Matters of concern include issues of headword selection, especially problems of dialect representation in the dictionary. The article also discusses the inclusion of grammatical information such as tone marking. The SCD is one of the many efforts to promote and raise the functions of the indigenous languages in Zimbabwe. Of special interest in this article is therefore the discussion on the inclusion of international words like those denoting weight, distance and mathematical and scientific concepts. The article also considers the treatment of taboo words in the SCD, which takes into account that society has to open up culturally to be able to unequivocally view some of the aspects of life with which present-day children are confronted. The article lastly discusses how a balance was reached for accommodating the target users' proposal for the inclusion of an elaborate back matter in view of the limited available scope and space of the SCD. Keywords: TARGET USERS, DIALECT REPRESENTATION, INTERNATIONAL WORDS, TABOO WORDS, TONE MARKING, BACK MATTER, DICTIONARY, LEXICOGRAPHYOpsomming: Teikengebruikers se verwagtinge teenoor die werklike samestelling van 'n Sjonakinderwoordeboek. Die artikel bespreek die uitdagings waarvoor die span samestellers te staan gekom het tydens werk aan die eentalige Sjonakinderwoordeboek (voortaan SKW). Dit kyk na die aktiewe betrokkenheid van die teikengebruikers by die ontwikkeling van die projek en bespreek die oorwegings vir die uitvoering van hulle aanbevelings. Sake van belang sluit in kwessies van trefwoordkeuse, veral probleme van dialekverteenwoordiging in die woordeboek. Die artikel bespreek ook die insluiting van grammatiese inligting soos toonaanduiding. Die SKW is een van die baie pogings om die funksies van die inheemse tale in Zimbabwe te bevorder en te vergroot. Van spesiale belang in hierdie artikel is dus die bespreking oor die insluiting van internasionale woorde soos dié wat gewig, afstand en wiskundige en wetenskaplike konsepte benoem. Die artikel beskou ook die behandeling van taboewoorde in die SKW wat in aanmerking neem dat die gemeenskap kultureel oper moet word om in staat te wees om sommige aspekte van die lewe waarvoor hedendaagse kinders te staan kom, onomwonde te beskou. Laastens bespreek die artikel hoe 'n balans verkry is om die teikengebruikers se voorstel vir die insluiting van 'n uitvoerige agterwerk in te pas in ooreenstemming met die beperkte beskikbare omvang en ruimte van die SKW.

Lost in Translation: Language, Terminology, and Understanding of Penile–Anal Intercourse in an HIV Prevention Trial in South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe

“…As illustrated by VOICE-D participants' reactions to the body-mapping activity and responses to questions, there are linguistic cultural restrictions around sexual communication and cultural prohibition of open discussion of sexual behavior in many African contexts, including South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe (Eaton, Flisher, & Aarø, 2003; Fandrych, 2012; Vos, 1994). Discussion about excretory and sexual organs is considered obscene and offensive in Shona-, Luganda-, and Zulu-speaking contexts (Chabata & Mavhu, 2005; Mabaso, 2009; Mangoya, 2009; Storch, 2011). Terms for genitalia and sexual behaviors, particularly in the vernacular, tend to be euphemistic, ambiguous, and nonspecific in most African languages (Bell & Aggleton, 2012; Xaba, 1994).…”

Homograph processing in Shona: A preliminary exploration

“…Tone markings are a relatively new grammatical phenomenon in dictionary making and also other Shona language and grammar texts. It should be noted that Fortune's (1972) view has since fallen out of favour at least with regard to all latest dictionary making projects, which now include tone marking since it is considered helpful to users for pronouncing words (Chimhundu, 1996(Chimhundu, , 2001Mangoya, 2009). It is important to note that even the tone marking for dictionaries initially faced resistance from selected target users.…”

“…At the present moment, tone marking is not widely practiced in Shona. However, it is now a common practice to mark tones in dictionary making since it aids pronunciation (Chimhundu, 1996(Chimhundu, , 2001Mangoya, 2009;Mabaso, 2009). Although tonal distinctions are generally not represented, using Bird's (1999) classification, languages like Shona which are not written with tone marks, still have a tonal orthography, but with complete underrepresentation; what we refer to as zero tone marking.…”