Shona-English Name Dictionary

By Eliah Chakanetsa Kapezi

Knowing one's origin coupled with an appropriate name gives one a sense of great pride and belonging. In the United States in particular most people with African ancestry have started moving away from the traditional English names which is a clear sign that there is a yearning to associate with mother Africa. The beginning of this major shift ca

• Language: English
• Publisher: Book Vine Press
• Release date: May 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9781958128329

Eliah Chakanetsa Kapezi

Eliah Chakanetsa Kapezi is an engineer by profession with a passion for finding solutions to problems. His travels around the world broadened his awareness and gave him the ability to look at the world and those who live in it through non-technical lenses.

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CONTENTS

DEDICATION

INTRODUCTION

FOREWORD

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Z (prefix zi associated with huge items)

DEDICATION

To my late parents Samson and Dorcas Kapezi, I am most grateful for the permanent gift of a beautiful mind, through this gift my ability to comprehend and analyse complex issues and then deliver quality products and services even under extreme adverse conditions has never been in doubt. I have as a result made positive contributions in all organisations where I have been given a chance to fully participate. My father’s prediction when I was four years old that I would travel worldwide has also been partially fulfield with trips to East and Western Europe, South America and most of Africa.

To my eldest sister Ivy my profound gratitude for buying me a laptop which made the writing of this book less laborious. To my sister Tracy your words of wisdom and encouragement pushed me to greater heights hence completion of this project in time.

INTRODUCTION

During my stay in the United Kingdom I came across a lot of people with African heritage who had lost touch with the motherland but were keen to give their offspring African names. The problem most couples face is that names that can be translated into English are not that many and not too common either. This Shona-English Name Dictionary was written to address that problem. On the African continent the same problem has become prevalent because the modern generation has become too westernised. What prompted me to write this book is the fact that in most cases neither the parents nor the children are able to explain why they were given the chosen name; emphasis should be on historical background as well as meaning and not the uniqueness of the name. In short this book aims to demystify some of the common Shona names that are easily translated into English in the hope that all those who have the desire to give their children genuine African names are in a position to select names which meet the criteria stated above. Depending on the province and dialect there can be two different names with the same meaning. In some cases one name or word can have two different meanings depending upon pronunciation or application.

FOREWORD

African names are based on events, famine, times of plenty, wealth, poverty, birth places, seasons, size, looks, colour, experience, numbers, behaviour and skills. The names in this book are in their original spelling e.g. currently Tendai is spelt without the ‘y’, and yet the original spelling included the ‘y’ i.e. Tendayi. ‘W’ has also been taken out of current name spellings e.g. Tawona has become Taona. To assist with pronunciation explosive sounds have an ‘h’ or ‘v’ added e.g. bhiza/vhara respectively while implosive names do not have the ‘h’ before the consonant. Vowels are pronounced thus a (ah), e (eh), i (e), o (oh), u (ooh). Pronunciation can also change the meaning sometimes e.g. doro can either mean alcohol or wetland suitable for growing small grains like rice. One obvious observation users of this dictionary will notice is that the letters ‘L,’ ‘X,’ and ‘Q’ do not exist in the Shona language.

‘Ka’ as a prefix is normally used as a diminutive or something of great pride and sa in the Eastern region is like a tittle in fact more as a mark of respect

For instance kamukomana refers to a boy or man with something special or perculiar about him. Sahanga when broken down refers to an individual associated with guinea fowl i.e hanga. ‘Zi’ as a prefix refers to something that is above normal in terms of size. Where meanings are split by a hyphen there is a choice and where a semi colon is used the meanings are different application determines the choice of meaning. A single Shona word can also be explained in a paragraph in English or other languages for that matter because it is a precise language.