NSSCAS Thimbukushu First Language 8198 flashcards
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- Skimming
- Reading a text quickly to grasp its general meaning or gist, often used to match headings or identify the main idea before answering detailed questions.
- Scanning
- Searching a text for specific information such as names, dates, numbers, or key words without reading every sentence in detail.
- Inference
- A conclusion drawn from evidence in the text combined with background knowledge; an inference is not stated directly and must be justified with textual support.
- Main idea
- The central point of a paragraph or passage; it is often stated in a topic sentence and is supported by details throughout the text.
- Fact versus opinion
- A fact can be verified with evidence; an opinion expresses a belief, judgement, or feeling and often uses evaluative adjectives such as good, bad, or beautiful.
- Cohesive devices
- Words and structures such as pronouns, conjunctions, and repeated key terms that link sentences and show relationships of cause, contrast, addition, or sequence.
- Summarising
- Restating the main points of a text in fewer words, in continuous prose, preserving the original meaning while excluding examples, repetition, and minor details.
- Thesis statement
- A single sentence in an essay's introduction that states the central claim and indicates the direction of the argument or discussion.
- Paragraph unity
- The quality of a paragraph in which every sentence supports the topic sentence; unrelated ideas are moved to a new paragraph.
- Cohesion
- The use of connectors, pronouns, and repeated key terms to link sentences and paragraphs so that the text reads as a logical whole.
- Register
- The level of formality in language; formal register avoids contractions, slang, and conversational fillers, while informal register may include them.
- Formal letter structure
- A formal letter includes sender address, date, recipient address, salutation, body paragraphs, closing formula, and signature; each part occupies a conventional position.
- Narrative arc
- The structure of a story: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution; each stage advances the plot and develops conflict.
- Counterargument
- An opposing view that an argumentative essay acknowledges and then refutes or concedes in part, showing that the writer has considered alternatives.
- Noun class prefix
- The initial morpheme of a Thimbukushu noun, such as mu-, va-, thi-, or vi-, that assigns the noun to a class and controls agreement.
- Subject concord
- The prefix on a Thimbukushu verb that agrees with the subject noun's class and number, for example a- for class 1 and va- for class 2.
- Adjectival concord
- The prefix on an adjective or possessive that agrees with the noun it modifies; the concord is determined by the noun's class, not by the adjective's meaning.
- Infinitive class 15
- The prefix ku- attached to a verb stem forms the infinitive, which behaves like a noun and can serve as subject or object in a sentence.
- Locative classes
- Classes 16 pa-, 17 ku-, and 18 mu- express location ('at/on', 'to/from', 'inside') and take the matching concords pa-, ku-, and mu-.
- Tonal language
- A language in which pitch patterns on syllables distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning; Thimbukushu is tonal, so tone marks and context affect interpretation.
- SVO order
- The basic clause order subject–verb–object; in Thimbukushu the object normally follows the verb, and fronting it signals focus or topic shift.
- Active listening
- Giving full attention to a speaker, paraphrasing the main point, asking clarifying questions, and using nonverbal cues to show understanding.
- Turn-taking
- The convention by which speakers alternate in conversation or discussion; in formal settings, speakers wait for a pause and acknowledge the previous contribution.
- Prosody
- Variation in pitch, stress, tempo, and pause during speech; prosody conveys emphasis, emotion, and syntactic boundaries.
- Audience adaptation
- Adjusting vocabulary, examples, tone, and pace to suit the listeners' age, background, and expectations so that the message is understood.
- Oral narrative performance
- The live delivery of a story using voice characterisation, gesture, dramatic pause, and audience participation formulas such as call-and-response.
- Oral literature
- Literature composed and transmitted by word of mouth; in Thimbukushu it includes folktales, proverbs, riddles, and praise poetry performed before an audience.
- Folktale
- A traditional story with fictional characters and events, often teaching a moral or explaining a natural phenomenon; it uses opening and closing formulas.
- Proverb
- A short, fixed, metaphorical saying that expresses community wisdom or a general truth and is used to support an argument or comment on behaviour.
- Riddle
- A puzzle question with a conventional answer; riddles use metaphor, hyperbole, and wordplay for entertainment and teaching.
- Praise poem
- A poetic genre that celebrates a person's qualities, ancestry, or achievements using epithets, repetition, and historical allusion.
- Theme
- The central idea or message about life that a literary work explores; theme differs from plot, which is the sequence of events.