Learn to Speak Shona

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Learn Shona
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Origins of the Shona Language
Shona is the principal language of Zimbabwe. Shona is a member of the group of Bantu languages.

How many people speak the Shona language?
Shona is spoken by about 8 million people, or close to three-fourths of the native population.

Shona-speaking Countries
Shona is spoken in Zimbabwe, and there are also about one million speakers in Mozambique and 200,000 in Botswana.

Screenshots from Talk Now! Learn Shona CD-ROM

Talk Now Shona CD-ROM Details

This is an excitingly different language learning series. Talk Now! uses games and quizzes as a basis for making the learning process fun, easy and relaxing. There is no better way to teach an old dog new tricks and this fun element of the program means that your fears are forgotten as you absorb words and phrases without even realising you are learning them.

Talk Now! is the world's best selling language learning CD-ROM series for beginners, used by more than three million people to date. It's ideal for travellers, holidaymakers, business people, schoolchildren, students and families.

Anyone over 10 years of age will find the disc indispensable for improving listening, understanding and spoken language skills. There are nine topics: first words, food, colours, phrases, parts of the body, numbers, time, shopping and countries.

The games and quizzes included on the disc ensure that users have fun whilst using the disc, without realising that they're learning. The "intelligent" software feature remembers words you get wrong and targets your weak points.

NOW includes Apple iPod integration, which allows you to listen to Talk Now Shona wherever you are!

Shona Music and Dance

Shona music includes dance, song, ngoma (drums), mbira (thumb piano), marimba (xylophone), hosho (shakers), chipendani (mouth bow) and other instruments. Although banned during the colonial era, this rich and complex music has survived over thousands of years, shaping a direct link to the heritage and knowledge of the Shona people. Still played at traditional biras (spiritual ceremonies), it holds together the fabric of Shona existence.

Shona Food and Drink

Traditional dishes include sadza (a stiff maize meal) eaten with meat and/or gravy and a relish. Rapoko is the traditional beer produced in Zimbabwe and lacto is a traditional fermented milk drink.

Shona Attractions

Zimbabwe is bordered by Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa and Botswana. The central zone of hills gives rise to many rivers, which drain into the man-made Lake Kariba to the northwest, the marshes of Botswana to the west or into the Zambezi River to the northeast. The Victoria Falls are a principal attraction. Formerly Salisbury, the capital, Harare, is Zimbabwe's commercial and industrial centre and also the usual starting point for any visit. It is a clean and sophisticated city, characterised by flowering trees, colourful parks and contemporary architecture. Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo, is a major commercial, industrial and tourist centre. The city is home to the National Museum and headquarters of the National Railways of Zimbabwe. From the forested mountains of the Eastern highlands to the sun-washed grasslands of Hwange National Park, from the hot Mopani Forest to the shores of Lake Kariba, more than 11 per cent of Zimbabwe's land - 44,688 sq km (17,254 sq miles) - has been set aside as parks and wildlife estates. Nightlife is rather limited outside the cities with the emphasis on eating and discos.

Customer Testimonials

"This is an excitingly different language learning series. Talk Now! Uses games and quizzes as a basis for making the learning process fun and relaxing." - PC Answers

"I bought your Learn Malay CD today - I've only just begun, but I wanted to say how much I am enjoying it. I studied Malay from a book all day yesterday, making some 25 pages of notes on grammar and vocab, but I remember more from your CD from just an hour!" - James Bryce

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