NSSCO Khoekhoegowab First Language 6098 cheat sheet

Khoekhoegowab has four basic click types: dental ǀ, alveolar ǃ, lateral ǁ and palatal ǂ; each contrasts with non-click consonants and with the other click types.

A written click symbol is followed by an accompaniment letter such as g, k, kh, n or h; the whole sequence functions as one consonant onset and is never split by a vowel.

Tone is phonemic: a change in pitch pattern can change a word's meaning, so tone must be kept stable in reading aloud, repetition and prepared speech.

Typical oral tasks include reading aloud, picture description, prepared talk, conversation, role-play, interview and debate; each task specifies a purpose and an audience.

Active listening means identifying the speaker's main claim, supporting reasons, attitude and implied meaning, and noting key words rather than every word.

Formal register uses complete sentences, polite address and standard vocabulary; informal register allows contractions, idioms and shorter conversational turns.

Debate and seminar turns normally follow position, evidence, response to the opponent and summary; interrupting before the speaker finishes weakens the argument.

Final noun suffixes such as -b, -s, -i and plural -gu, -di, -ga must be audible because they carry gender and number information.

The main idea is what the whole paragraph or text is about; supporting details answer who, what, when, where, why or how.

An inference is a meaning not stated directly; a valid inference must be supported by at least one clue in the text.

A fact can be checked or proved; an opinion is a judgement, belief or feeling, and evaluative words such as best or beautiful often signal opinion.

Text purpose may be to inform, persuade, entertain, instruct or describe; purpose and audience together shape vocabulary, tone and structure.

Cohesion is created by pronouns, conjunctions, repetition, synonyms and transition words; tracking referents such as ǁîb and ǁîs prevents ambiguity.

A summary restates the main idea and key points in the reader's own words, leaving out examples, repetition and minor details while keeping the original meaning.

Vocabulary in context is worked out from surrounding words, word roots and parallel structures; click type and tone can also change meaning.

Figurative language includes simile, metaphor, personification and idiom; it must be interpreted beyond the literal meaning of the words.

Text structure may be narrative (setting, characters, problem, climax, resolution), expository (cause-effect, comparison, problem-solution) or persuasive (claim, evidence, counterclaim).

The four click letters are ǀ dental, ǃ alveolar, ǁ lateral and ǂ palatal; they are consonants and never vowels.

A click symbol is followed by its accompaniment letter, for example g, k, kh, n or h, to show voicing, aspiration, nasality or glottalization; the cluster is one onset.

Click symbols have no uppercase forms; at the start of a sentence or in a proper noun, capitalize the first ordinary letter after the click, as in ǁKh...

Tone is phonemic and standard orthography marks tone on vowels with diacritics; the exact diacritic must be copied in dictation, spelling and minimal pairs.

Common noun suffixes are masculine singular -b, feminine singular -s and neuter singular -i; common plural suffixes are masculine -gu, feminine -di and neuter -ga.

The basic declarative order is subject-object-verb (SOV); the finite verb normally comes last, with question and negation particles in fixed positions.

Pronouns and adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number; the noun suffix indicates which concord form is required.

Punctuation includes the full stop, comma, question mark, exclamation mark, colon, semicolon and quotation marks; direct speech uses quotation marks and a reporting clause.

Minimal pairs may differ only by click type, vowel quality or tone; sentence context is used to decide which word is intended.

Task analysis identifies the topic, purpose, audience, required format (essay, letter, report, speech or dialogue) and word limit before planning begins.

Narrative structure consists of exposition and setting, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution; character is shown through action, speech and conflict.

Descriptive writing uses sensory detail (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) and precise verbs and adjectives; clichés weaken the description.

An argumentative essay states a thesis, gives reasons and evidence, acknowledges a counterargument, rebuts it and ends with a conclusion that follows from the argument.

A paragraph has one controlling idea: a topic sentence, supporting sentences and a concluding or linking sentence.

Cohesion is achieved with pronouns, conjunctions, lexical repetition, synonyms and transition words that link sentences and paragraphs.

A formal letter contains sender address, date, recipient address, salutation, body, closing and signature; an informal letter uses a relaxed personal register.

Register must match the audience: formal writing avoids contractions and slang, while informal writing may be conversational and personal.

Editing checks click symbols, tone marks, concord, tense, spelling, punctuation, paragraphing and the word limit before submission.

Oral literature includes folktales, praise poetry, proverbs, riddles, songs, lullabies and historical narratives; it is performed aloud and transmitted by memory.

Written literature is fixed in text and is analysed through narrator, setting, character, plot, conflict, theme, style and structure.

Praise poetry uses repetition, parallelism, epithets and metaphor to honour a person or community; performance adds voice, rhythm and gesture.

Trickster tales often use animals such as the jackal, hare or lion to teach values; identify the trickster, the victim, the trick and the moral.

Proverbs are short, fixed traditional sayings that express communal wisdom; they are interpreted figuratively and often support a theme or moral.

Riddles use wordplay, metaphor and hidden comparison; the answer must fit every clue in the question.

Theme is the central idea or message, such as justice, survival or respect; it is not the same as plot, which is the sequence of events.

Characterization may be direct, when the narrator describes the character, or indirect, through actions, speech, thoughts and other characters' reactions.

Poetry analysis identifies line, stanza, rhyme, rhythm, repetition, imagery, tone and mood; tone is the speaker's attitude and mood is the feeling created in the reader.