Mhoroyi!

In my last update, I shared the background to our ongoing Shona 101 project – a bilingual storybook for children. Shona 101 is a collaborative project between Genii Games and Linford Zirangwa aka Bembenene, a native Shona speaker from Zimbabwe and computer science undergrad at Dartmouth College. Upon completion (release date is early March so sign-up here to get it), Shona 101 will serve as a fun introduction to basic Shona words and sentences.

So, if you’ve been learning Yoruba and Igbo languages using Yoruba101, Yoruba101 Ikini and Igbo101 then you’re already familiar with the cultural teacher Ade. You can’t miss his looks even as he flips dressings to conform to different native African cultures. Ade is a curious person who’s keen on learning as many native African cultures as he can. He’s always interested in opportunities to learn them for the benefit of teaching others. This time, Ade is on a mission to learn Shona, a native language predominantly spoken in Zimbabwe. Shona 101 presents Ade with an interesting approach to learn basic Shona, hence there’s a handsome reward if he does so. To complete his Shona quest, Ade has enlisted the support of his friend, Bembenene.

Who is Bembenene?

Bembenene is a young dreadlocked black boy from Zimbabwe. Bembenene is an avid reader and adventurer. He understands English, thinks in and speaks Shona. He is funny and smart. Together with Ade, they will walk through the mission to help Ade retrieve the treasure and in the process help Ade understand basic Shona. It’ll be fun.

Bembenene

P.S. Click here to sign up for a free or discounted copy of Shona101 upon release. Remember to share with friends and families too.

Cheers.