Abstract:
This paper informed by Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the Speech Act Theory
(SAT) and the Functionalist Theory of Language, argues that many Zimbabweans
as reflected in the Shona language have become corrupt. It puts forward the theory
that in most cases where services are asked for or are supposed to be provided,
there are certain words and phrases that are couched in a manner that is reflective
of people requesting for or demanding bribes. The paper laments that attempts
to eliminate corruption are almost insurmountable because the rot affects almost
everyone, the rich and the poor as well as the powerful, and those without power.
It does not however suggest that people become corrupt because of language, but
that language becomes reflective of the cancer that has largely blighted the country.
The paper does this through an exegesis of selected phrases such as Pano panoti
ini (This is my space) and Regai vambodyewo (It is their time to eat, viz, Let them
loot or enrich themselves since it is their time) that show the depth of the rot with
some people even condoning it. The paper concludes by pointing out that although
language has always been used as a vehicle in corrupt transactions, the Shona
language is today more reflective of this cancer largely because of the economic
challenges that the country of Zimbabwe is facing.
