Zambezia: The Journal of Humanities of the University of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwean Women’s Voices and the Struggle for Liberation: An analysis of Selected Texts

Z Mguni-Gambahaya

The article explores Zimbabwean women’s voices about women’s participation in Zimbabwe’s struggle for independence and their welfare in the aftermath of independence as portrayed in Mothers of the Revolution (1990) and Women of Resilience: The Voices of Women Ex-combatants (2000). Here the authors unravel part of the tapestry of Zimbabwe’s social history that had up to 2000 remained inaudible and veiled by carefully woven official accounts. In some parts this article draws some parallels between wartime promises for total emancipation for every Zimbabwean and the harsh post-independence experiences the women have had to confront. Whilst the voices in these two books under discussion raise genuine personal concerns, the article argues that the voices appear sometimes to have a narrow vision of the global limitations Zimbabwe faces in her efforts to truly liberate all the marginalised people of her society. The largely disgruntled voices, however, could be viewed as a challenge for Zimbabwe to focus on her past mistakes for complete therapy as she forges into the future.

The Language of Ethnic Contempt: Malawian-Zimbabwean-Shona Rivalry

P Mashiri

The contact between the Shona and immigrants from Malawi dates back to more than six decades ago. Throughout this period, the ethnic relations of the two groups have been represented in fiction, drama and popular music as antagonistic. However, very little has been said about how these two ethnic groups express their attitudes towards each other through language, in particular, the names or labels that they use. This paper argues that the relations of the two groups have been largely antagonistic and are covertly or overtly reflected in the language that members of the groups use to refer or to name or label each other. This article demonstrates that names or labels both groups use to contemptuously refer to or name (insult) each other derive from the socio-cultural and historical context. These names or labels reflect the groups’ disapproval of and stereotypical attitudes towards each other.

Negative Advertising as a Strategy of Persuasion in the 2002 Presidential Election Campaign in Zimbabwe

J Kangira

This paper was first presented at an international conference dubbed About An African Athens: Rhetoric And Democracy that was held at the Centre for Rhetoric Studies, University of Cape Town from 6 to 11 June 2004. The conference was held to celebrate 10 years of democracy in South Africa at that time.

Compiling Specialised Dictionaries in African Languages: Isichazamazwi SezoMculo as a Special Reference

D Nkomo

This article presents the challenges encountered in the compilation of Isichazamazwi SezoMculo, a Ndebele dictionary of musical terms, henceforth the ISM and the strategies that were used to deal with the respective challenges. The article notes that the experience of the compilers of the dictionary in question is similar to that of other lexicographers who compiled other specialised dictionaries in Shona at the African Languages Research Institute (ALRI). This prompts the author to conclude that the challenges encountered and the strategies employed are characteristics of specialised lexicography especially in African languages which are still less developed. As such, the article attempts to bring insights in African languages lexicography which are hoped to develop African languages and promote their use in specialised, advanced and formal domains of communication.

A Critical Appreciation of Victimhood in Mungoshi’s Shona Novels

I Muhwati

The paper is a deliberate problematisation of the study of Mungoshi’s Shona literature with a view to initiate new critical perspectives absent in current Shona critical scholarship. The author problematises the study of the author’s novels by advancing the argument that while the author deals with the tragedy engendered largely by a crisis of identity, his novels are also in a similar crisis of identity. This crisis manifests itself through the writer’s undeviating obsession with victimhood. It appears as if Mungoshi has become eloquent in visualising Shona experiential exigencies through the lenses of victimhood. However, the paper argues that such a position is not only culturally debilitating, but also constitutes a very narrow perspective of viewing family and cultural realities. The paper also problematises Mungoshi’s Shona literature by transcending the arguments raised by pioneer critics who include George Kahari (1990) and Emmanuel Mudhliwa Chiwome (1996) who tended to confine their analysis to the crisis of identity triggered by the clash between Shona and Western culture that the writer deals with. Their criticism is, therefore, celebratory

River Pollution in the City of Masvingo: A Complex Issue

J Mapira

The goals of this study are threefold, namely, to raise public awareness on the problem of river pollution within the city of Masvingo, to contribute to the ongoing research and debate on this matter and to show why river pollution is a complex issue. The information discussed in this paper is based on surveys that were conducted between 2003 and 2006. It is shown that river pollution in the city is a growing problem that calls for a multi-disciplinary approach in its study. The traditional approach of focusing only on the scientific and legal aspects of the problem, provide a narrow and often biased view of the problem. A more holistic and more encompassing perspective is advocated in this paper.

An Analysis of Linguistic Resources Found in the Advertising Discourse Used by Selected Banking Institutions in Zimbabwe

R Makamani

This study analyses linguistic resources found in the advertising discourse used by three banking institutions in Zimbabwe. The institutions are the Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe (CBZ), Trust Bank of Zimbabwe (Trust Bank) and the Agricultural Bank of Zimbabwe (Agribank). The researcher takes a keen interest in banking commercials of between 2002 and 2003, a period which seems to mark the zenith of banking commercials in Zimbabwe judging by the highly combative advertising language used and the hyper-activity seen in the banking sector. The researcher thus analyses how banking advertising discourse is constructed to project a calculated purpose and ideology. The study reveals that banking commercials employ linguistic features such as thematisation and rhematisation of discourse topics, nominalisation, some deictics, and the finite supported by visuals of animate and inanimate objects to persuade, control and manipulate both men and women as equal investors. Data was gathered both from primary and secondary sources using reliable strategies namely, library reseach, questionnaires and interviews. Text analysis was used to analyse the studied commercials. It enabled the researcher to analyse how banking commercials frame language in creating meaning that shows dominant motifs and ideology.

Cultures, Realities, Difference — An Analysis of Bird Myths in Vozes Anoitecidas and Cada Homem É Uma Raça By Mia Couto

M Chipara

This paper analyses myths associated with birds as they are presented in two collections of short stories by Mozambican writer Mia Couto, Vozes Anoitecidas and Cada Homem é uma Raça. This is a writer with whom many readers living outside the Lusophone world may not be familiar, despite the fact that he is well known internationally. The analysis represents a departure from the tendency amongst researchers to focus on the writer’s language and linguistic innovation, which are the hallmark of his writing. It hopes to give Portuguese-speaking and non-Portuguese speaking readers alike some insight into the writer’s treatment of socio-cultural issues, an aspect of his works that has not been treated in sufficient depth. The paper is divided into three parts. The first provides a brief biography of the writer and situates him within the context of Mozambican literature. The second gives an overview of the historical, social, political and economic context within which the stories to be analysed are set. The third part analyses six stories in which bird myths are featured and considers the significance of these myths as they are used by Mia Couto. The analysis of these bird myths provides a valuable insight into an essential aspect of indigenous Mozambican culture. It also offers the writer an opportunity to comment on beliefs and attitudes that might hinder efforts to construct a ‘national’ Mozambican culture and identity that reflect a respect of diversity and difference in terms of gender, race, and religion