NSSCO Oshindonga First Language 6100 key terms

Listening with full attention: the listener follows the speaker's points, notes key details mentally or in writing, and checks understanding by asking questions or restating what was heard.

A formal spoken argument in which two teams support and oppose a motion under agreed rules, each side giving reasons and evidence and answering the other side's points before a decision is made.

A planned talk given aloud to an audience, built from an introduction, a few well-ordered main points and a conclusion, delivered with suitable volume, pace, eye contact and clear pronunciation.

A planned exchange in which one person asks prepared questions and another answers them, used to gather information, test suitability for a post or collect someone's views for a report.

Reading rapidly over a whole text to catch its general subject and how it is organised, without stopping for details, so that a later close reading is faster and better directed.

Running the eyes quickly through a text to find one particular item, such as a date, name or figure, and ignoring everything else until that item is located.

A conclusion a reader draws from clues in the text combined with background knowledge, needed when a meaning is suggested rather than stated; any inference must be supported by the passage.

The central point that a paragraph or whole passage develops, broad enough to cover all its details and specific enough to exclude neighbouring topics; it is often stated in one sentence.

A short restatement of a text's main points in the writer's own words and in continuous sentences, keeping the original order and leaving out examples, repetition and minor detail.

The level of formality in language, chosen to fit audience, purpose and situation; official letters and reports need formal wording, while a message to a friend may be relaxed and colloquial.

Grammatical agreement between sentence parts, especially subject and verb: the noun class of the subject decides which subject marker the verb takes, and pronouns and adjectives must match too.

One of the prefix-based groups into which nouns fall in Oshindonga and other Bantu languages; each class links singular and plural forms and controls the concords used on verbs, adjectives and pronouns.

The grammatical marking of when an action or state occurs in relation to the moment of speaking, such as present, past or future, shown in Oshindonga chiefly through verb markers.

The marking of how an action unfolds rather than when it happens: whether it is finished, still going on, repeated or habitual, which in Oshindonga is carried by verb forms.

A fixed expression whose meaning cannot be worked out from its separate words, so it has to be learned and used whole; replacing or translating the words usually destroys the meaning.

A short, well-known traditional saying that sums up community wisdom; it is used to support advice or comment on behaviour, and its figurative meaning must be explained, not taken literally.

Two ways of giving someone's words: direct speech quotes them inside quotation marks exactly, while reported speech restates them, changing pronouns, time words and verb tense to fit the new sentence.

The accepted system for writing a language: the letters used, the spelling of sounds, the joining or separating of words, and the rules for capitals and punctuation.

The contrast between short and long vowels, written in Oshindonga by a single or doubled vowel letter; because length can change meaning, a missing or extra vowel is a spelling error.

The marks used in written text, including full stop, comma, question mark, exclamation mark, colon, semicolon and quotation marks, which show sentence boundaries and clarify meaning.

The use of capital letters to begin sentences and to mark proper nouns such as people's names, place names, days, months and languages, following the fixed rules of written Oshindonga.

An official letter to someone not known personally, laid out with the writer's and receiver's addresses, date, salutation, subject line, clearly paragraphed body and a polite formal ending.

A formal letter written to apply for a post or place, naming what is applied for, presenting the writer's qualifications and experience, and requesting consideration or an interview.

A summary of a person's details, education, qualifications, work history and referees, set out under clear headings and usually sent together with an application letter.

The official written record of a meeting, stating date, attendance, each agenda item, the decisions reached and the person responsible for acting on them, written in reported speech.

An organised factual account of an event, visit or problem, written under headings such as purpose, findings and recommendations, in a neutral tone with no personal opinion.

A short outline made before writing that sets the main points in a sensible order and notes the support for each, so the essay argues steadily without gaps or repetition.

The sentence that states the single main point of a paragraph, usually placed first and then supported by explanation, evidence or example in the sentences that follow.

A block of sentences developing one idea, shown in writing by indentation or a line space, normally opening with a topic sentence and closing with a link to the next idea.

The way sentences and paragraphs are tied together so the whole piece reads as one, using connectives, pronouns, repeated key words and a clear order of ideas.

The final slow check of a completed draft for spelling, punctuation, grammar and word choice before submission, best done after a pause and, where possible, by reading aloud.

The arrangement of events in a story, moving from exposition through complication and climax to resolution; causes and consequences hold it together rather than a plain list of happenings.

The methods used to build a character: physical description, the character's speech and actions, comments from others, and the narrator's direct judgement, together shaping the reader's view.

The time and place in which a story happens, including the physical surroundings and the social conditions of the community, both of which influence characters' choices and support the theme.

The central idea a literary text explores and returns to, such as loyalty, loss of tradition or abuse of power, expressed as a full statement rather than a single word.

The struggle between opposing forces in a narrative, such as person against person, person against society or a conflict within one character, which creates tension and drives the plot.

A gap between what is said and what is meant, or between what is expected and what happens, used by a writer to criticise, amuse the reader or expose a character's failure to understand.

A group of lines in a poem separated from other groups by a space, working like a paragraph: it carries one stage of the poem's thought and often has its own pattern.

Written instructions in a play script, usually in italics or brackets, telling actors how to speak or move and describing set, props and lighting; they are not spoken by the actors.