Preserving Zimbabwe's Linguistic Heritage

The ZORL Trust is dedicated to the preservation, development, and promotion of all 16 officially recognized languages of Zimbabwe through research, technology, and community engagement.

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16
Languages (Including English and Zimbabwean Sign Language)
2 Key
Projects
6
Trustees

Our Key Initiatives

Monolingual Dictionaries

Comprehensive dictionaries for all 16 officially recognized languages of Zimbabwe, available both online and in print.

Language Technologies

Developing digital tools and resources to support the use of Zimbabwean languages in the modern world.

Educational Resources

Creating learning materials to promote literacy and language learning in Zimbabwean languages.

About ZORL Trust

The Zimbabwe Officially Recognised Languages (ZORL) Trust is a dedicated vehicle committed to the preservation, development, and promotion of our linguistic heritage. Our core mandate is to benefit both present and future generations across Zimbabwe and the African continent, with a specific focus on uplifting the communities that speak these officially recognized languages.

To ensure these languages thrive in the modern era, the Trust is establishing a secure, comprehensive repository to acquire, curate, and manage vital language datasets and technologies. We actively develop and maintain advanced language processing tools to guarantee our recognized languages can function effectively across all internet and virtual domains.

Through the provision of grants and targeted resources, we support critical research projects aimed at linguistic digitization. Furthermore, ZORL Trust explores and develops commercially viable applications for these language technologies, generating the necessary resources to sustain and expand the Trust's long-term objectives.

Zimbabwe's Officially Recognized Languages

Shona

Ndebele

English

Chewa

Chibarwe

Kalanga

Koisan

Nambya

Ndau

Shangani

Sotho

Tonga

Tswana

Venda

Zimbabwean Sign Language

ZORL Web Applications

Explore our suite of specialized digital tools designed to modernize and digitize language resources.

ZORL Dictionary & Vector Search App

Access our dedicated monolingual dictionary platform. This application features high-performance vector search capabilities to handle complex morphological structures, currently featuring our extensive Ndebele and Shona corpora.

You are about to leave ZORL.org to access our dedicated application portal.

Launch Dictionary App (zorld.app)

Our Projects

Information regarding ongoing corpus development and localization projects.

Our Board of Trustees

The strategic direction and governance of the ZORL Trust are guided by our esteemed Board of Trustees. Comprehensive biographical data and CVs will be published in upcoming iterations of our platform.

Professor H. Chimhundu

[Placeholder: Details outlining their key role in linguistic preservation, structural oversight, and guiding the Trust's academic objectives.]

Dr E. Mberi

[Placeholder: Details outlining their key role in language technology research, project facilitation, and corpus development.]

Dr S. Hadebe

[Placeholder: Details outlining their key role in maintaining the integrity of datasets and managing institutional partnerships.]

Dr K. Dube

[Placeholder: Details outlining their key role in grant allocation, educational resource development, and community outreach.]

Dr N. Mtwetwa

[Placeholder: Details outlining their key role in ensuring the commercial viability and technological deployment of our language apps.]

Mr F. Kambarami

[Placeholder: Details outlining their key role in the administrative execution, legal compliance, and operational governance of the Trust.]

Recent Activities

Updates on workshops, data gathering, and system deployments.

Get Involved

Partner with us or contribute to our language databases.

Contact Us

Reach out to the administration team at: