Grade 7 indigenous languages Writing – Social Writing – SMS Notes
Writing — Subtopic: Social Writing (SMS)
Subject: Indigenous languages (Kenya) — Age: 12
- Identify grammatical features of an SMS used to give information.
- Create an SMS text in a local language using appropriate grammatical features for clear communication.
- Use polite grammatical forms (respect/politeness) when writing short digital messages.
An SMS is a short written message you send on a phone. When writing in your home language, focus on clear grammar that shows:
- who is speaking (subject),
- what action (verb) and its time (tense),
- where/when (place/time words),
- politeness (greetings, please, thank you).
- Short clear sentences: Use one idea per sentence so the receiver understands fast.
- Subject marking: In many Kenyan indigenous languages (especially Bantu), verbs carry subject prefixes — you can drop separate subject words because the verb shows who does the action.
- Tense/aspect markers: Keep the tense marker so time is clear (e.g., present/past/future). In SMS you may shorten words, but keep the part that shows time.
- Imperatives for instructions: Use the imperative form for requests (short command verbs). Add a polite word if needed.
- Negation and questions: Keep the negative particle or question word so meaning is not lost.
- Polite particles and greetings: Words like “tafadhali” (please) or local polite forms make messages respectful — these are part of grammar and etiquette.
Below are short models in Swahili (a Kenyan indigenous language) to show grammatical points you should keep when writing SMS in any local language.
Informing — Present / location
Niko nyumbani sasa. Nitakuelewa baadaye.
(I am at home now. I will contact you later.)
- Grammar: verb ni- marks subject “I”; -na- shows present; time word “sasa” shows when.
Request — Imperative + polite word
Tafadhali njoo kesho asubuhi.
(Please come tomorrow morning.)
- Grammar: tafadhali (please) + imperative verb njoo (come). Politeness built into grammar.
Short question — keep question word or particle
Uko wapi? (or) Wapi uko?
(Where are you?)
- Grammar: keep the question word (wapi = where) so the receiver answers correctly.
Sometimes you shorten words in SMS. Do so without removing the parts that show subject or tense. Examples:
- Keep verb markers: instead of deleting -na- or -ta-, you may shorten vowels but keep the marker: Nitakuja → Ntkja (not recommended for learners — better keep full form).
- Keep politeness words: do not remove tafadhali or greetings; they are important grammar for respect.
- Avoid ambiguous drops: if your language needs pronoun agreement, do not remove the marker that shows who.
- Greeting + short info: [Greeting] + [Who + verb + where/time]. Example pattern: "Hello — I am at [place] now."
- Request politely: [Please word] + [imperative verb] + [time/place].
- Question for information: [Question word] + [verb/predicate] + [time/place]?
- Short confirmation: [Yes/No particle] + [verb marker if needed] + [brief reason].
Ask your teacher to give the equivalent grammatical words (greetings, tense markers, polite words) in your mother tongue and then use these templates.
- Teacher demonstrates 4 short SMS examples in a local language (greeting, informing, requesting, asking). Pupils identify subject/verb/tense markers.
- Pair activity: each pupil writes 3 SMS in their mother tongue using templates. Partner checks for subject markers and polite words.
- Role-play: pupils act as sender/receiver. Send an SMS (read aloud) and the other replies; focus on correct tense and politeness forms.
- Homework: write 5 short SMS to family members — one greeting, two information messages, one request, one question. Teacher checks grammar (subject markers, tense, politeness).
- Sentence is short and has one clear idea.
- Verb shows who (subject marker) or the subject word is included.
- Time (present/past/future) is clear.
- Politeness/greeting words are present when needed.
- Question and negation particles are kept so meaning stays clear.
👋
Start with a greeting
✍️
Use correct verb markers
🙏
Keep polite words