(Dis)Engaging Monolingualism from the Tower of Babel: Church and National Inclusivity in Zimbabwe

Kimion Tagwirei

Issue: Vol.7  No.6 2025 Article 1 pp. 141 – 151
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/motbit.2025761|   Published online 28th December, 2025
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Zimbabwe recognises 16 indigenous languages that are spoken across the country. While much has been published about linguistics in Zimbabwe, the interface of bibliology and ecclesiology with dialectology and inclusivity is minimal. Employing a qualitative literature review, decoloniality theory and reflecting on the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, this paper engages the Church with languages. It finds that Zimbabwe uses English as its language of instruction in schools and keeps Shona and Ndebele as ordinary subjects that are taught in areas where these languages are the mother languages of the majority of residents. This approach has maintained the hegemony of English and Shona because, even though about 70% of the Zimbabwean population speaks Shona, 17% speak Ndebele, and 10% speak other languages, all are forced to learn English. Citizens who speak English and Shona are only exposed to the need for Ndebele and other languages when they relocate to provinces where minority languages are commonly used. Yet, those speaking Ndebele and other languages are forced to learn Shona and English in order to fit in living, working and developmental spaces beyond their locations of birth. This paper concludes that the positive political talk and stagnant walk of developing all constitutionally recognised languages in Zimbabwe is abortive and regressive. It recommends that the Church becomes the voice for the voiceless ethnicities and promote multilingualism and national inclusivity. This paper contributes to the subject of multilingualism, which is an integral part of decoloniality and inclusivity.

Keywords: Multilingualism, Exclusivity, Inclusivity, Church, Development

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Kimion Tagwirei (PhD) is a Postdoctoral Research fellow at North-West University, The Unit for Reformational Theology and the Development of the South African Society, Faculty of Theology, Potchefstroom, South Africa. He researches, teaches and publishes African spiritualities and leadership, integral mission for sustainable development, and inclusive wellbeing.

Tagwirei, Kimion. “(Dis)Engaging Monolingualism from the Tower of Babel: Church and National Inclusivity in Zimbabwe.” Journal of Mother-Tongue Biblical Hermeneutics and Theology (MOTBIT), 7 , no. 5 (2025): 141 – 151. https://doi.org/10.38159/motbit.2025761.

© 2025 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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