Abstract:
This paper explores new developments in Shona lingo, whereby Shona lingo borrows words from mainstream
Shona and assigns new meanings to them. The paper examines this adaptation of adoptives at the semantic level.
Data were collected through observation, participant observation and a questionnaire. The paper established that
Shona lingo borrows different items of grammar as they are from mainstream Shona but attaches new meanings
to them. The identified resultant semantic changes include, changes in the ranges of meaning resulting in
extension or narrowing the semantic content of the word, radical shift in meaning and changes in emotive value
resulting in amelioration or pejorative meanings. The paper also shows how Shona lingo is reflective of the
socio-economic situation of the Zimbabwean society.
