BOOK REVIEWSIsiNdebele Esiphezulu: A Manual of the Ndebele Language By N. P. Ndhlu-kula. Gwelo, Mambo Press in association with the Rhodesia LiteratureBureau, 1974, 278pp. Rh$l,70.The rate at which Ndebele has been developed as a school subject in its ownright, over the past two decades, replacing Zulu, is remarkable. There hasbeen a persistent spirit of determination among Ndebele sneakers that thisgoal should be attained and the results are highly commendable.The Ndebele Language Committee, formed in 1956, has been deeplyconcerned with the promotion of Ndebele literature for educational use, andthe Rhodesian Literature Bureau has taken practical steps to implement thispolicy by offering prizes to authors. Among outstanding writers who haveemerged, mention might be made especially of such names as N. S. Sigogo,P. Mahlangu, N. Sithole, A, Mzilethi and Lassie Ndondozi. Besides pure liter-ature in the form of poetry, plays and novels there has been also a need forpractical text books. In this field, Ndhlukula's recent contribution, IsiNdebele-Esiphezulu, is a particularly useful school language manual for youngNdebele speakers.It contains a wide range of material arranged in such a way as to main-tain interest throughout by varying the recipe constantly. Grammar is intro-duced in easily digestible, small but regular doses, interspersed agreeably witha great many selected passages of prose, and some poetry, drawn from a widespectrum of sources. Besides extracts from modern Ndebele literature, a fairsampling has been taken from works by leading Zulu authors (translated intoNdebele). In addition, the rich heritage of traditional Ndebele oral literaturehas not been overlooked: due attention is given to episodes from folk tales,to riddles and proverbs, and to traditions, customs and social conventions.Each lesson concludes with practical questions or exercises on the material.Attention is also given to matters such as letter writing (both formal andinformal), to the art of precis, and to practical approaches to specimen aues-tions from examination papers dealing with set books. The book has beenneatly and efficiently produced and should certainly fulfil a valuable role fora long time to come.School of Oriental and African Studies, LondonD. K. RYCROFTAssessment of English Proficiency in the African Primary School By /. E.Hofman. Salisbury, University of Rhodesia, Series in Education Occa-sional Paper No. 3, 1974, 75pp. Rh$2,00.The situation investigated by Professor Hofman is one in which Shona-speaking African children in Rhodesia are receiving their primary schooleducation through the medium of English from teachers who are non-nativespeakers of English. After a brief outline of the circumstances leading to theexisting language medium situation, Hofman sets himself the task of discover-ing the extent to which the policy of 'earlv-English-cum-universal-permeation-eum-instructional-innovation' has been effective.For purposes of this research he uses the cloze technique developed by121