The following approach has been adopted for the use of foreign words.

1. Use of foreign words

Foreign words from other languages such as English or, preferably, other Bantu languages such as KiSwahili and IsiNdebele, may be used in a ChiShona text, particularly where ChiShona seems lacking. For example, vocabulary relating to marine life is not well-developed in ChiShona.

2. Italicising foreign words

Foreign words and phrases used in a ChiShona text are italicised. However, not all foreign words are italicised, in particular, those that have been assimilated into current ChiShona (in their original or modified form), and have an entry in any of the following dictionaries:

Duramazwi Guru reChiShona - Rine zvirungamutauro, Mupepeti: Herbert Chimhundu, Publisher: College Press in conjunction with the African Languages Research Institute, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe, 2001

Standard Shona Dictionary - Revised Edition with Addendum, Author: M. Hannan, S.J, Publisher: College Press in conjunction with the Literature Bureau,

3. Proper names

Italics are not used for proper names, such as names of persons, institutions, and places, spelled with an initial capital letter.

4. Verbatim quotations

Verbatim quotations in a foreign language are placed in single quotation marks without italicising the text.