Editing Zimbabwe (section)

== Etymology ==
{{further|Rhodesia (name)}}

The name "Zimbabwe" stems from a [[Shona language|Shona]] term for [[Great Zimbabwe]], a medieval city ([[Masvingo]]) in the country's south-east. Two different theories address the origin of the word. Many sources hold that "Zimbabwe" derives from ''dzimba-dza-mabwe'', translated from the Karanga dialect of Shona as "houses of stones" (''dzimba'' = plural of ''[[wikt:imba#Shona|imba]]'', "house"; ''mabwe'' = plural of ''[[wikt:ibwe|ibwe]]'', "stone").<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.somalipress.com/zimbabwe-overview/zimbabwe-big-house-stone-1145.html|title= Zimbabwe – big house of stone|publisher= Somali Press|access-date= 14 December 2008|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110503184153/http://www.somalipress.com/zimbabwe-overview/zimbabwe-big-house-stone-1145.html|archive-date= 3 May 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title= Shona Class 5 revisited: a case against *ri as Class 5 nominal prefix|journal= Zambezia|year= 1994|volume= 21|pages= 51–80|author= Lafon, Michel|url= http://archive.lib.msu.edu/DMC/African%20Journals/pdfs/Journal%20of%20the%20University%20of%20Zimbabwe/vol21n1/juz021001005.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title= Mediated monuments and national identity|author= Vale, Lawrence J.|doi= 10.1080/136023699373774|journal= Journal of Architecture|volume= 4|year= 1999|pages= 391–408|issue= 4|issn = 1360-2365}}</ref> The [[Shona language|Karanga-speaking]] Shona people live around Great Zimbabwe in the modern-day [[Masvingo Province|Masvingo]] province. Archaeologist [[Peter Garlake]] claims that "Zimbabwe" represents a contracted form of ''dzimba-hwe'', which means "venerated houses" in the Zezuru dialect of Shona and usually references chiefs' houses or graves.<ref>{{cite book|last= Garlake|first= Peter|author-link= Peter Garlake|title= Great Zimbabwe: New Aspects of Archaeology|url= https://archive.org/details/greatzimbabwe0000garl|url-access= limited|year= 1973|publisher= Thames & Hudson|location= London, UK|isbn= 978-0-8128-1599-3|page= [https://archive.org/details/greatzimbabwe0000garl/page/13 13]}}</ref>

Zimbabwe was formerly known as [[Southern Rhodesia]] (1898), [[Rhodesia]] (1965), and [[Zimbabwe Rhodesia]] (1979). The first recorded use of "Zimbabwe" as a term of national reference dates from 1960 as a coinage by the black nationalist Michael Mawema,<ref name=fontein119120/> whose Zimbabwe National Party became the first to officially use the name in 1961.<ref name=ndlovugatsheni113114>{{cite book|title= Do "Zimbabweans" Exist? Trajectories of Nationalism, National Identity Formation and Crisis in a Postcolonial State|last= Ndlovu-Gatsheni|first= Sabelo J.|location= Bern|publisher= [[Peter Lang (publisher)|Peter Lang AG]]|year= 2009|edition= First|isbn= 978-3-03911-941-7|pages= 113–14}}</ref> The term "Rhodesia"—derived from the surname of [[Cecil Rhodes]], the primary instigator of British colonisation of the territory—was perceived by African nationalists as inappropriate because of its colonial origin and connotations.<ref name=fontein119120>{{cite book|title= The Silence of Great Zimbabwe: Contested Landscapes and the Power of Heritage|last= Fontein|first= Joost|location= London|publisher= [[University College London|University College London Press]]|date= September 2006|edition= First|isbn= 978-1844721238|pages= 119–20}}</ref>

According to Mawema, black nationalists held a meeting in 1960 to choose an alternative name for the country, proposing names such as "Matshobana" and "[[Kingdom of Mutapa|Monomotapa]]" before his suggestion, "Zimbabwe", prevailed.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=92goAQAAMAAJ&q=%22What%27s+in+a+Name|title= What's in a Name? Welcome to the 'Republic of Machobana'|journal= Read on|publisher= Training Aids Development Group|location= Harare|year= 1991|page= 40}}</ref> It was initially unclear how the chosen term was to be used—a letter written by Mawema in 1961 refers to "Zimbabweland"<ref name=ndlovugatsheni113114/> — but "Zimbabwe" was sufficiently established by 1962 to become the generally preferred term of the black nationalist movement.<ref name=fontein119120/>
Like those of many African countries that [[Decolonisation of Africa|gained independence]] during the [[Cold War]], ''Zimbabwe'' is an ethnically neutral name. It is debatable to what extent Zimbabwe, being over 80% homogenously [[Shona people|Shona]] and dominated by them in various ways, can be described as a [[nation state]].<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last=Mlambo |first=Alois S. |date=2013 |title=Becoming Zimbabwe or Becoming Zimbabwean: Identity, Nationalism and State-building |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43941319 |journal=Africa Spectrum |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=49–70 |doi=10.1177/000203971304800103 |jstor=43941319 |s2cid=127302759 |issn=0002-0397|hdl=2263/41913 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The constitution acknowledges 16 languages, but only embraces two of them nationally, Shona and English. Shona is taught widely in schools, unlike [[Ndebele language (Zimbabwe)|Ndebele]]. Zimbabwe has additionally never had a non-Shona head of state.<ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-11-29 |title=From a kingdom to a nation: A Shona awakening |url=https://tradmag.ca/season-1/government/from-a-kingdom-to-a-nation-a-shona-awakening-2/ |access-date=2023-05-10 |website=Trad Magazine |language=en}}</ref>