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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The Zimbabwe crisis as captured in Shona metaphor
Authors:Kadenge, MaxwellISNI
Mavunga, GeorgeISNI
Year:2011
Periodical:Journal of African Cultural Studies (ISSN 1369-6815)
Volume:23
Issue:2
Pages:153-164
Language:English
Geographic term:Zimbabwe
Subjects:Shona language
language usage
social change
External link:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13696815.2012.637879
Abstract:This article examines metaphors that Shona speakers in Zimbabwe create to communicate various messages concerning the socioeconomic and political crisis that has been occurring in their country since the year 2000. The data for the study came from two sources, namely, field notes from participant observations taken of naturally occurring interactions in the public and private spheres from August to December 2008, and semi-structured interviews conducted with Shona speakers of varying age groups, educational status, religious and political affiliation, and gender. The article draws analytical insights from the Cognitive Grammar (CG) framework which looks at metaphor as a conceptual and linguistic phenomenon that involves a mapping relation between two domains, namely, the source domain and the target domain. This theory argues that metaphor, as a cognitive tool enabling us to draw on our previous experience of the world with familiar issues and mapping them on less familiar ones, occupies a prominent place in our thought process. The article examines in particular metaphors referring to the challenges faced during the crisis, local and foreign currency, corruption and its perpetrators, cheap items and success in illicit deals, and coping mechanisms. Bibliogr., sum. [Journal abstract]
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