WACE Tamil Background Language ATAR key terms

The Tamil language itself, a Dravidian language with a continuous literary history of over two thousand years, spoken in Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia and diaspora communities worldwide.

A person's mother tongue, the language first acquired in childhood and associated with family and identity; a frequent theme in Tamil personal writing and oral reflection.

The Dravidian language family, to which Tamil belongs alongside Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam; useful when discussing the origins and relatives of Tamil in cultural texts.

The Sangam academies of ancient Tamil country, associated with classical poetry composed roughly between 300 BCE and 300 CE and valued as the foundation of Tamil literary heritage.

A classical Tamil work of 1330 couplets on ethics, wealth and love, attributed to Thiruvalluvar; commonly quoted in essays, speeches and cultural discussion.

A proverb, a short traditional saying that carries folk wisdom; candidates should be able to explain a proverb's literal meaning and its figurative application in speech or writing.

Grammar, the system of rules governing word formation, sentence structure and usage; in Tamil it also refers to the classical grammatical tradition covering letters, words and meaning.

The eight Tamil case relationships marking how a noun relates to others in a sentence, expressed by case suffixes such as -ஐ, -ஆல், -க்கு, -இன் and -இல்.

A suffix or ending added to a root to show grammatical information such as case, tense, person or number; recognising endings helps candidates parse unfamiliar words in reading texts.

The classical Tamil classification of land, life and poetry into inner and outer domains; also used in grammar for grouping nouns into higher and lower beings, affecting pronoun choice.

The class of nouns denoting rational beings, such as humans and deities, which take the pronouns அவன், அவள், அவர் and related verb endings in standard Tamil.

The class of nouns denoting non-rational beings, including animals, objects and abstract ideas, which take the pronoun அது and its plural அமை in standard Tamil.

A compound in which a verb form modifies a following noun, such as the participial construction in a noun phrase; recognising it supports accurate reading of literary and formal prose.

A phrase or sentence unit in Tamil grammar, classified by structure such as noun phrase, verb phrase or complex sentence; useful metalanguage for analysing written and spoken texts.

A simile or comparison, an expressive device in which one thing is likened to another using words such as போல or ஒப்ப; identifying it helps interpret literary and persuasive texts.

An explicit comparison between two unlike things, often marked by போல, போன்ற or ஒப்ப; a common figure in Tamil poetry, song lyrics and public speeches.

A person or community living away from their homeland; in the Australian context it refers to Tamil migrants and their descendants maintaining language and culture abroad.

A heritage language, one spoken in the family or community rather than as the official language of the country; explains the bilingual setting of most candidates in this course.

Culture, the shared customs, values, arts and way of life of a community; a recurring topic in oral discussion and in essays about identity and tradition.

Heritage, the traditions, knowledge and practices passed down through generations; often contrasted with modern change in discussion and argumentative writing tasks.

A festival or celebration, such as Pongal, Deepavali or Tamil New Year; candidates should describe its customs, food and significance in spoken and written Tamil.

A programme or running order of events, such as for a cultural festival; useful for understanding notices, invitations and announcements in listening and reading passages.

A notice or announcement, a short public text giving information about an event, change or instruction; a common text type in reading comprehension and listening tasks.

An advertisement, a persuasive text promoting a product, service or event; candidates analyse its language, audience appeal and persuasive techniques in reading tasks.

An idea, opinion or main point; candidates must identify the main idea and supporting ideas in a text and express their own opinion clearly in speech and writing.

An argument or debate, a reasoned presentation of opposing positions; in oral assessment candidates may be asked to argue a viewpoint and respond to counterarguments.

Agreement or consent; in discussion it refers to expressing agreement with an interlocutor, often with phrases such as நான் ஒப்புக்கொள்கிறேன், before adding a further point.

Refusal or disagreement; the act of politely rejecting a proposal or opposing a view, using softened forms such as மன்னிக்கவும், ஆனால் எனக்கு அது சரியென்று தோன்றவில்லை.

An interview, a structured spoken exchange in which one person asks questions and another responds; a common oral task requiring appropriate register and follow-up questions.

A conversation or dialogue between two or more speakers; candidates practise turn-taking, initiating topics, seeking clarification and closing a conversation naturally.

Listening, the receptive oral skill assessed through recorded passages; candidates identify main ideas, specific details, speaker attitude and implied meaning from spoken Tamil.

A summary, a brief restatement of a text's key points in one's own words; assessed in both reading and listening tasks to check comprehension of main ideas.

A question, an utterance seeking information; recognising question words such as எது, யார், எப்படி and ஏன் is essential for comprehension and for forming interview questions.

An answer or reply; in comprehension tasks candidates locate or construct an answer that directly addresses the question, using evidence from the text or recording.

A letter, formal or informal; candidates should know the layout, salutation and closing conventions of Tamil personal and formal letters for written production.

An essay or article, a structured piece of writing with introduction, developed body paragraphs and conclusion; a core text type in the written production assessment.

An application, a formal written request such as for a job, course or permission; requires formal register, clear statement of purpose and appropriate closing formulae.

A report, an organised factual account of an event or investigation; candidates present information under headings with objective tone and accurate detail.

Formality or register, the appropriate level of politeness and style for a situation; formal writing and formal speech use different pronouns and verb forms from casual conversation.