Aspects of negation in Shona

Abstract

Negation in Shona is a topic which has received very little attention. An attempt is made to show how negation is achieved in Shona and the semantic effect of its use. The article covers not only the negative words and formatives employed and their distribution, but also the interaction of some aspects of negation with extra-linguistic features. The approach adopted is purely descriptive. Most of the examples cited are taken from the Zezuru dialect.