Language Proficiency and Written Expression (Sorbian)
This domain tests your ability to produce coherent standard Upper Sorbian prose under timed conditions: an argumentative, descriptive or interpretive text with a clear thesis, controlled paragraphing and a register suited to the task. In Saxony the written subject is normally taken in Upper Sorbian; Lower Sorbian norms belong to the Brandenburg context, so do not mix the two standards in one text.
What examiners reward
- Task fulfilment: the text does what the prompt asks (Erörterung, Interpretation, Bericht, Leserbrief) for the stated reader.
- Structure: introduction with topic and thesis, body paragraphs with claim–evidence–explanation, conclusion that answers the question.
- Range: varied vocabulary, subordinate clauses, participial phrases and precise connectors.
- Accuracy: case government after prepositions, verb aspect, dual forms, orthography.
- Register: formal address with Wy and dative Wam in letters; ty/tebi only for friends or children.
Core rules
- Plan for five minutes: write the thesis in one sentence, then list two or three arguments with the evidence you will use.
- Use connectors precisely: pak (but/however), tuž (therefore), potajkim (thus), nimo toho (besides), na jednej stronje … na druhej stronje (on the one hand … on the other).
- Check every prepositional phrase: bjez and do take the genitive, z takes the instrumental for “with” and the genitive for “from”.
- Choose aspect deliberately: imperfective for process, repetition or background; perfective for a completed result foregrounded in the argument.
- Use the dual for two referents, including verb endings; do not default to plural after dwaj or dwě.
- Keep orthography consistent: distinguish ř from r, ł from l, ě from e, and ó from o.
Worked example
A candidate writes: W Budyšin je wjele dwurěčnych napisow. The preposition w (‘in’) governs the locative, so the place name must stand in the locative: W Budyšinje je wjele dwurěčnych napisow. The reasoning is not lexical but grammatical: w + locative answers ‘where?’, while do + genitive answers ‘where to?’ (do Budyšina). The same check applies to z Budyšinom (‘with Bautzen’, instrumental). In the exam, underline every preposition and label its case before you polish style.
Traps that cost marks
Translating German prepositional phrases word for word; overusing ale where pak is more idiomatic; forgetting the dual when two people or objects are named; mixing Upper and Lower Sorbian forms; writing a summary where the task demands an argument; and using quoted phrases without integrating them into your own sentence.