Zulu vs Shona
Countries
South Africa
Zimbabwe
National Language
South Africa
Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe
Second Language
Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zimbabwe
Not spoken in any of the countries
Speaking Continents
Africa
Africa
Minority Language
Not spoken in any of the countries
Not spoken in any of the countries
Regulated By
Pan South African Language Board
Not Available
Interesting Facts
- The meaning of word "Zulu" means "Sky"and Zulu was the name of the ancestor who founded the Zulu royal line in about 1670.
- Zulu language has many loanwords borrowed from Afrikaans and English Languages.
- Shona language is tonal language.
- The African people in Zimbabwe is made of 10 ethnic groups, each speaking a different languages, shona is spoken by 60 percent of population.
Similar To
Xhosa Language
Kalanga and Nambya Language
Derived From
Not Available
Not Available
Alphabets in
Zulu-Alphabets.jpg#200
Shona-Alphabets.jpg#200
Writing Direction
Not Available
Not Available
Time Taken to Learn
Not Available
Thank You
Ngiyabonga
Waita zvako
How Are You?
unjani
Wakadini zvako?
Good Night
okuhle ebusuku
Urare zvakanaka
Good Evening
okuhle kusihlwa
Manheru
Good Afternoon
okuhle ntambama
Masikati
Good Morning
okuhle ekuseni
Mangwanani
Please
Ngiyacela
Ndinokumbirawo
Sorry
Ngiyaxolisa
Ndineurombo
I Love You
Ngiyakuthanda wena
Ndinokuda
Where They Speak
Gabon, South Africa
Zimbabwe
Dialect 2
central KwaZulu-Natal Zulu
Karanga
Where They Speak
Georgia, South Africa
southern Zimbabwe
Where They Speak
Zimbabwe
central Zimbabwe, Mashonaland
Second Language Speakers
Not Available
Native Name
isiZulu
Not Available
Alternative Names
Isizulu, Zunda
Chishona, “Swina” (pej.), Zezuru
German Name
Zulu-Sprache
Schona-Sprache
Pronunciation
Not Available
Not Available
Ethnicity
Zulu people
Not Available
Language Family
Niger-Congo Family
Niger-Congo Family
Subgroup
Benue-Congo
Benue-Congo
Early Forms
urban Zulu
Not Available
Standard Forms
Deep Zulu
Not Available
Signed Forms
Not Available
Not Available
Scope
Individual
Individual
ISO 639 6
Not Available
Not Available
Glottocode
zulu1248
core1255
Linguasphere
99-AUT-fg
99-AUT-a
Language Type
Living
Living
Language Linguistic Typology
Subject-Verb-Object
Not Available
Language Morphological Typology
Not Available
Not Available
Zulu and Shona Language History
Comparison of Zulu vs Shona language history gives us differences between origin of Zulu and Shona language. History of Zulu language states that this language originated in 19 whereas history of Shona language states that this language originated in 20th century. Family of the language also forms a part of history of that language. More on language families of these languages can be found out on Zulu and Shona Language History.
Zulu and Shona Greetings
People around the world use different languages to interact with each other. Even if we cannot communicate fluently in any language, it will always be beneficial to know about some of the common greetings or phrases from that language. This is where Zulu and Shona greetings helps you to understand basic phrases in Zulu and Shona language. Zulu word for "Hello" is Sawubona or Shona word for "Thank You" is Waita zvako. Find more of such common Zulu Greetings and Shona Greetings. These greetings will help you to be more confident when conversing with natives that speak these languages.
Zulu vs Shona Difficulty
The Zulu vs Shona difficulty level basically depends on the number of Zulu Alphabets and Shona Alphabets. Also the number of vowels and consonants in the language plays an important role in deciding the difficulty level of that language. The important points to be considered when we compare Zulu and Shona are the origin, speaking countries, language family, different greetings, speaking population of these languages. Want to know in Zulu and Shona, which language is harder to learn? Time required to learn Zulu is 44 weeks while to learn Shona time required is Not Available.