Reading comprehension and language structures
The Reading comprehension and language structures domain of NSSCAS Khoekhoegowab First Language 8190 tests unseen Khoekhoegowab prose and verse. You must show literal understanding, inference, attitude and vocabulary in context, and you must handle grammar inside comprehension answers. The paper is answered in Khoekhoegowab; this guide explains in English and keeps Khoekhoegowab terms where they carry marks.
Core rules
- Answer the question asked: main idea, sequence, cause, effect, reference or inference.
- Support each point with a short phrase from the text, then explain it in your own words.
- Check PGN agreement: person, gender and number. Khoekhoegowab distinguishes singular, dual and plural, so a dual noun needs a dual pronoun or agreement.
- Watch negation, question particles and clause linkers; one negative word can reverse the answer.
- Read click letters precisely: ǀ, ǁ, ǂ and ǃ are different consonants, not decoration. Vowel length and tone marks also change meaning.
Worked example
A question asks why a writer repeats a pronoun in paragraph 2. First find the noun it replaces. Check that the noun's PGN matches the pronoun. If the nearest noun is dual feminine but the pronoun is plural, the pronoun cannot refer to it; look for an earlier dual feminine noun. Then explain the effect: repetition keeps the referent clear and stresses the writer's point. A full answer names the referent and gives the effect, not just 'for emphasis'.
Traps that cost marks
Copying a whole sentence without explaining it; ignoring dual number; treating ǀ and ǁ as the same; missing a negative; inventing a motive the text does not support; answering in English when the question requires Khoekhoegowab.