About Shona Language
According to Wikipedia.org, Shona is a Bantu language and is spoken by the Shona people of Zimbabwe. The language was codified by the colonial government and became popular during the 1950s. According to Ethnologue, the language was spoken in the Zezuru, Korekore, and Karanga dialects. It is spoken by 7.5 million people. Shona has Manyika and Ndau dialects and is spoken by 1,025,000 and 2,380,000 people. It is called Shona and is similar to the Ndau (Eastern Shona) and Karanga (Western Shona). Shona is a written standard language and became popular in the early 20th century. In the 1920s, the Rhodesian administration offered schoolbooks and other materials in Shona. The first novel in Shona was published in 1957. It is taught in the schools and has literature in the monolingual and bilingual dictionaries. The Standard Shona has a specific dialect and is spoken by the Karanga people of Masvingo Province. Shona dialects are taught in local schools.
About Odia (Oriya) Language
According to Wikipedia.org, Odia language is an Indo-Aryan language. It is spoken by 50 million speakers as this language is recognized officially. The Indian constitution is using this language officially for its purposes. Odia is also the official language of Odisha (Oriya) which is a prominent Indian state. This language has several dialects but Mughalbandi (Coastal Odia) happens to be the standard dialect. It is also the official language for education in this state. Odia belongs to the eastern group of the Indo-Aryan family. It is derived from Ardhamagadhi Prakrit. You will be surprised to know that Odia shares a lot of similarities with Bengali. Even the first classic poetry started to shape up with this language. This language is heavily inspired by Dravidian languages. The lexicon is also associated with Tamil, Telugu, and Marathi.
