Abstract
This article outlines the challenges encountered by the African Languages Research Institute (ALRI) team members in the compilation of the monolingual Shona Children's Dictionary. The focus is mainly on the problems met in headword selection. Solutions by the team members when dealing with these problems are also presented.
Highlights
This article outlines the challenges encountered by ALRI researchers in the compilation of the monolingual Shona Children's Dictionary ( SCD) which is the first of its kind in Shona
It is rare to hear speakers refer to mathematics/maths as masvomhu rather than metsi, bicycle as bhizautare rather than bhasikoro, and sugar as tsvigiri rather than shuga. Faced with such a problem, the SCD compilers agreed that not every loanword should find its way into the dictionary
It was agreed that loanwords incorporated into the language and used in formal speech, showing that they have stood the test of time, should be included as headwords
Summary
This article outlines the challenges encountered by ALRI researchers in the compilation of the monolingual Shona Children's Dictionary ( SCD) which is the first of its kind in Shona. The dictionary is different from the DGC in many respects such as the target users, the structure and the contents. The main challenge of this project was what exactly such a specified dictionary should contain. Another challenge the compilers faced was the issue of Lexikos 19 Supplement (AFRILEX-reeks/series 19: 2009): 112-119 http://lexikos.journals.ac.za. The Compilation of a Shona Children's Dictionary: Challenges and Solutions 113 language dynamism. It had to be decided which illustrations should be included in the dictionary, considering the different urban and rural backgrounds of the main target users. The compilers agreed on possible solutions to some of the challenges for the dictionary to be user-friendly, satisfying its users after publication
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