Linguistic Adulteration of the Shona Culture? An Ubuntu Perspective

Abstract

Zimbabwe constitutionally recognises sixteen (16) languages. Of these officially recognised languages, only English is a foreign language. Be that as it may, its hegemony is all over the country as the de facto lingua franca. Against that backdrop, this paper argues that the dominance of the English language has corrupted lived and liveable philosophies such as Ubuntu/Unhu. Utilising the Shona people as its case study and guided by the Ubuntu/Unhu philosophy, this paper holds that the multilingual situation whereby English dominates the language landscape, though critical in bridging communication gaps, has far-reaching consequences in as far as upholding people’s Ubuntu/Unhu and culture is concerned. This argument is guided and informed by the socialist perspective and the lingo-culturalists’ standpoint that language is not only a means of communication but also a carrier of culture and a purveyor of political thought and ideology. This treble characteristic of any language, which English is not an exception to, has culminated in it exuding cannibalistic tendencies on the indigenous languages’ thoroughgoing cultural nuggets such as Ubuntu/Unhu. Since Ubuntu/Unhu focuses on the whole person in terms of upbringing, the assimilation and continuous use of English throughout various spheres of life has perpetuated cultural genocide. By opting for English wherever culturally sensitive topics are debated, foreign norms, values and beliefs are (un)consciously spewed to avoid culturally sensitive words in the vernacular. Though the intention is to censor what are termed unprintable words in the vernacular, the consequences of the fluid identities are far-reaching in as far as upholding Ubuntu/Unhu is concerned since cultural groundings are slowly being eroded. Though this study focuses on the effects of English culture and language on Shona, the writer acknowledges the impact that other languages in Zimbabwe have.