The Shona languages (also called the Shonic group) are a clade of Bantu languages coded Zone S.10 in Guthrie's classification. According to Nurse & Philippson (2003), the languages form a valid node. They are:

In the 1920s, the Rhodesian administration was faced with the challenge of preparing schoolbooks and other materials in the various languages and dialects and requested the recommendation of the South African linguist Clement Doke. Based on his 1931 report, Standard Shona was developed from the Central Shona varieties. Because of the presence of the capital city in the Zezuru region, that variety has come to dominate in Standard Shona.

Some classifications include the Shonic group in Southern Bantu, with the other Zone S languages; others treat it separately.

References

• Doke, Clement M. Report on the Unification of the Shona Dialects. Government of Southern Rhodesia: Government Blue Book, 1931.
• Nurse, Derek; Philippson, Gérard, eds. (2003). The Bantu languages. London: Routledge. ISBN 9780700711345.