NSSCO German First Language 6096 flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Inverted pyramid

News-text structure placing the most important facts (who, what, when, where) in the opening paragraph, then decreasing importance downward, so editors can cut from the bottom without losing the core.

Textintention vs Textaussage

Textaussage is the literal content of a passage; Textintention is the author's purpose behind it, such as persuading, informing, or entertaining a specific readership.

Inferential reading question

A question whose answer the text implies but never states directly, requiring the reader to combine two or more pieces of textual evidence into a supported conclusion.

Irony signal words

Words such as 'angeblich', 'sogenannt', 'natürlich', and quotation marks around a term often flag ironic distance, indicating the author does not endorse the stated view.

Leserbrief conventions

A reader's letter reacting to a previously published article: it names the article, states agreement or objection, gives reasons, and closes with an appeal or personal signature.

Erörterung argument pattern

Each body paragraph follows Behauptung (claim), Begründung (reason), Beispiel (concrete example), Folgerung (conclusion), producing a self-contained, evidence-backed argumentative unit.

Diskursive Erörterung

An essay presenting both pro and contra positions on a controversial question, weighing them against each other and ending with a justified, clearly stated own judgement.

Narrative tense layering

Präteritum carries the main plot, Plusquamperfekt marks events preceding it, and Präsens is reserved for commentary or general truths, keeping temporal order unambiguous.

Vorfeld variation

Placing a different element (adverbial, object, subordinate clause) in first position of a German main clause to control emphasis; the finite verb must stay second.

Concession connector

Words such as 'obwohl', 'zwar ... aber', and 'allerdings' that acknowledge an opposing point before the writer restates or defends their own position.

Descriptive atmosphere word

A single adjective or noun repeated across a descriptive text (e.g. 'stickig', 'grau') that unifies sensory details and signals the intended mood to the reader.

Verb-second rule

In a German main clause the finite verb occupies the second position; if another element starts the clause, the subject follows the verb, producing inversion.

Subordinating conjunction comma

A comma separates a subordinate clause introduced by 'weil', 'dass', 'obwohl', 'wenn', or 'da' from the main clause, whether it precedes or follows it.

Two-way prepositions

An, auf, in, über, unter, vor, hinter, neben, zwischen take the accusative for direction or change ('wohin?') and the dative for position or state ('wo?').

Konjunktiv II uses

Forms such as hätte, wäre, würde, könnte express unreal conditions, hypothetical comparisons with 'als ob', and polite requests in formal register.

Konjunktiv I reported speech

Forms like er sei, er habe, er könne mark indirect speech neutrally; when a form matches the indicative, Konjunktiv II replaces it to keep the reporting clear.

Adjective declension principle

The case ending appears once in the noun phrase: the article carries it in weak and mixed declension, the adjective carries it in strong declension without an article.

Zustandspassiv

A passive form built with sein plus Partizip II that describes a resulting state rather than an action, as in 'Die Tür ist geschlossen'.

Summary tense and person

A Zusammenfassung uses Präsens, third person, reported speech rather than quotation, and contains no personal evaluation or commentary from the writer.

Content reduction hierarchy

In summarising, retain thesis, main arguments, key figures, and conclusion; delete examples, repetitions, anecdotes, and rhetorical ornament that carry no new information.

Register shift to formal

Converting informal text to formal replaces 'du' with 'Sie', contractions with full forms, and colloquial verbs such as kriegen or gucken with erhalten or betrachten.

Criterion-based comparison

Comparing two texts by criterion (topic, stance, tone, source) rather than text by text, so similarities and differences are stated directly for each point.

Parallel bullet form

Information-transfer bullets use the same grammatical pattern throughout, either all noun phrases or all verb phrases, with one idea per bullet and no full stop.

Erzähler types

Auktorial narration includes commentary and overview, personal narration uses an 'ich' limited to its own perception, and neutral narration reports without insight into figures.

Drama structure stages

Exposition introduces figures and conflict, steigendes Moment builds tension, Höhepunkt or Peripetie turns the action, fallendes Moment follows, and Katastrophe or Lösung closes.

Kadenz in poetry

A masculine cadence ends a verse line on a stressed syllable, a feminine cadence on an unstressed syllable following the stress, affecting the line's closing weight.

Deutungshypothese

A one-sentence interpretive claim stated in the introduction of a literary analysis, which the body then tests against textual evidence and the conclusion confirms or qualifies.

Enjambement

A line break that separates a syntactic unit, carrying the sentence into the next verse and often creating tension or emphasis at the break.

Figurenrede forms

Monologue reveals inner conflict, dialogue exposes relationships through exchange, and 'beiseite' speech lets a figure address the audience unheard by others on stage.

Oral monologue structure

For a picture or topic: describe foreground to background, interpret what the details suggest, then give a reasoned personal evaluation of the issue shown.

Final devoicing

In German, a voiced consonant at the end of a word or syllable is pronounced voiceless, so 'Tag' sounds like /tak/ and 'und' like /unt/.

Oral assessment criteria

Oral performance is judged on pronunciation, intonation, fluency, vocabulary range, grammatical accuracy, interaction, and fulfilment of the set task.