海角大神

Actually, I wasn鈥檛 even the one who took the picture of our fridge in Zimbabwe. Our secondhand refrigerator has sawed-off legs so that it fits snugly under a shelf in our stone-floored kitchen. More often than not, it sits in a puddle of water occasioned by frequent power cuts.聽

Taken one evening last October, the photo wasn鈥檛 of the puddle. It was of Sam鈥檚 Shona homework: lists of words and phrases in Zimbabwe鈥檚 ethnic Shona language that our then-10-year-old was trying to memorize.

Sam snapped the picture, amused at the way we鈥檇 effectively papered our fridge with words. (We鈥檝e never managed to paper our living room, where there鈥檚 still a crack in the pink paint from the earthquake that rattled our eastern border city in 2006.)

In an idle moment, I posted the photo on Twitter, and the reaction was immediate 鈥� and heartwarming.聽

Sam鈥檚 (slightly blurry) picture was retweeted and commented on. Those comments were retweeted by other Zimbabweans, starting with a long drawn-out 鈥淐ooooooool.鈥� Some sent me messages of support and approval.

鈥淎wesome! We shld all learn each other鈥檚 culture for integration. Separateness caused a lot of conflicts in Zimbabwe,鈥� one local told me.

鈥淚f only my people could see this,鈥� wrote another.

One Twimbo 鈥� as Zimbabweans active on Twitter call themselves 鈥� thoughtfully enlarged Sam鈥檚 photo and found a gap in the list of meanings. Sam and his dad had not filled in the meaning of 鈥渄hiri.鈥�

鈥淚t means 鈥榙eal,鈥� 鈥� he messaged me.

In the ensuing months, as the words on the fridge changed and the Shona phrases Sam can say have lengthened, I鈥檝e thought about that photo and what it meant to the Zimbabweans who saw it.

Some even sent me encouraging messages weeks after I first posted the photo.

The 9 million people who speak Shona are 鈥� mostly 鈥� extremely proud of it. It鈥檚 not the only ethnic language spoken here. Ndebele is the other major one, spoken in the south of the country. There are 13 others.

Many here worry that Zimbabweans don鈥檛 value these languages enough. They lament on Twitter that Shona-
聽speaking parents don鈥檛 mind if their children can鈥檛 speak their mother tongue well 鈥� though it鈥檚 a compulsory subject in all schools.

The other often-voiced complaint is that visitors and immigrants don鈥檛 bother to learn even a few words of Shona.

Ironically, it doesn鈥檛 help that so many Zimbabweans are accomplished linguists, speaking English (Zimbabwe鈥檚 main language for business) perfectly.

Soon after Sam started school, all parents 鈥� black and white 鈥� were summoned to a meeting with the Shona teacher, Miss K.

鈥淚 love my language,鈥� she said passionately by the light of a candle (there was a power outage). 鈥淚 want your kids to like it, too.鈥�

So Sam鈥檚 father and I committed ourselves to improving our own Shona, which was halting at best. When Sam was born, we gave him a Shona middle name to show how much we loved Zimbabwe and its culture.

Now we realized that our son had to see us learning, reading, and speaking Shona before he would seriously apply himself to it.

It鈥檚 not been easy. Growing up in England, I learned French and German at school, plus Italian and a little Spanish later. Picking up Shona now, with its very different linguistic roots and structure, is hard. But it鈥檚 important.

Before he starts work in the morning, Sam鈥檚 dad labors with a Shona dictionary and phrase book, drawing up new lists of words and phrases for Sam to learn. Trussing Sam鈥檚 little sister up in her pajamas every night, I keep half an ear on the after-supper language lessons. Reaching for the milk or a scoop of homemade baobab sorbet, I find myself glancing at the words of the day on the fridge. 鈥淒hongwana,鈥� I see, means 鈥渂aby donkey.鈥� 鈥淜umba kuri kufaya鈥� means 鈥淭hings are fine at home.鈥�

Last week, as I bargained for thick winter sweaters at the flea market, I heard a vendor say of me to her neighbor: 鈥淎nogona chiShona.鈥� It means 鈥淪he is capable of speaking Shona.鈥�

I hugged the words to me, carrying them home like a gift to present to the rest of the family.

I don鈥檛 speak Shona well. Not yet. Sam and his dad are ahead of me, and they still find it difficult, too. But we鈥檙e all trying.

The fridge helps, of course.

Glossary of Shona words

(MANG-wan-ah-nee): Good morning聽

Chisarai (CHEE-sah-rye): Goodbye聽

Ndapota (in-DAH-por-ter): Please聽

Mazviita (MASH-vee-tah): Thank you聽

Hupenyu imhindupindu (hoo-PEN-yu
聽IM-hin-doo-pin-doo): Life is a roller coaster.

Kumba kuri kufaya (CUM-bah COO-re
聽coo-FIE-ah): Things are fine at home.

Ndinogona kutaura chiShona zvishoma chete (in-DEE-no-GONE-ah COO-tau-OR-rah chee-SHOW-nah JEE-show-ma chair-tee): I only speak a little Shona.