Grade 7 indigenous languages – istening for Information Quiz
1. When listening to a farmer speaking in an indigenous Kenyan language, you notice a prefix on the verb that changes when the speaker talks about several animals instead of one. Grammatically, what does that prefix most likely indicate?
Many indigenous Kenyan languages use verb prefixes or agreement markers to show the subject's number and person. Hearing a different prefix for several animals indicates subject-verb agreement (plural vs singular).
2. You hear a farmer say a verb form with a special marker before it when recounting yesterday's work on the farm. Which grammatical category is this marker most likely showing?
Temporal markers (prefixes, suffixes, or particles) often indicate past tense. If the form appears when talking about yesterday, it most likely marks past time.
3. While listening to a child name several chickens, you notice the noun changes form (a suffix or prefix is added). What grammatical process is this?
Changing the form of a noun by adding affixes is a common way to mark plurality in many indigenous languages; hearing that change when several chickens are named indicates plural marking.
4. A farmer uses a short word before a noun to show that the cow belongs to him. Which grammatical category does that short word represent?
Possessive markers (words or affixes) indicate ownership. A short word before a noun used to show that the cow belongs to the speaker functions as a possessive marker.
5. When listening to an instruction on the farm, the speaker uses a verb form with no subject prefix but a distinct ending. Which mood is the speaker most likely using?
Imperatives often appear as verb forms without regular subject agreement and may use special endings. In spoken instructions, this pattern commonly marks commands.
6. A speaker says two identical syllables of a word when talking about many small seedlings (e.g., seed-seed). Grammatically, what does this repetition (reduplication) most often express?
Reduplication (repeating part or all of a word) commonly indicates plurality, distributive meaning, or continuous/repeated action in many indigenous languages.
7. Listening to a farmer ask about the location of the goats, you hear a special word at the start of the sentence. What is this word most likely doing grammatically?
Many languages use question particles placed at the start or end of sentences to mark interrogatives. Hearing such a word at the start of a wh-question usually indicates a question particle.
8. A farmer says a noun together with a small word that points to something near (like 'this cow'). Grammatically, that small word is called what?
Demonstratives (words like 'this' or 'that') indicate proximity or distance. A small word used with a noun to point to a nearby animal is a demonstrative.
9. When two nouns are joined and one takes a special connector (e.g., 'cow and calf' with an linking form), what grammatical role does that connector serve?
Connectors that join nouns or phrases function as coordinating conjunctions or linkers, showing that the items are listed or linked together.
10. A speaker uses a different verb form to say 'I used to feed the chickens' (habitual) versus 'I fed them yesterday' (past). Which grammatical contrast is being used?
Aspect distinguishes how an action unfolds over time (habitual, continuous, completed). Using different forms for 'used to' versus a single past event indicates aspectual contrast.
11. When listening, you notice the speaker adds a suffix to a verb to show that someone caused another to do something (e.g., 'make the donkey go'). What is this verbal form called?
A causative form marks that the subject causes someone or something else to perform the action. Affixes that change a verb to mean 'make/cause to' are causatives.
12. A farmer reports what another person said about the harvest and changes verb forms and pronouns accordingly. What grammatical process is the speaker using?
When relaying someone else's words, speakers change tense, pronouns, and sometimes verb forms to fit indirect speech. This is the grammatical process of reported speech.
13. You hear the speaker place a short locative suffix on a noun when saying 'on the field' or 'at the homestead.' What grammatical function does this suffix serve?
Locative suffixes or markers indicate location (e.g., 'at', 'in', 'on'). Adding such a suffix to a noun denotes where an action takes place.
14. When the farmer speaks to a child and uses a different pronoun form to include both the speaker and the listener ('we including you'), what grammatical distinction is being shown?
Some languages distinguish 'we' that includes the listener (inclusive) from 'we' that excludes the listener (exclusive). Using a form that clearly includes the listener shows this distinction.
15. A sentence on the farm begins with the name of the animal and then the verb and object follow (Animal - Verb - Object). What basic word order is this?
If the sequence is animal (subject) then verb then object, that follows the SVO word order, which is common in many languages.
16. A farmer negates an action on the farm by placing a small particle before the verb (e.g., 'not plough'). Grammatically, what is this particle called?
Negation particles are words placed before or after verbs to indicate that the action does not take place. Hearing such a particle shows negation.
17. You hear adjectives change form to agree with the noun they describe (for example, 'big cow' uses a different adjective form than 'big goats'). What grammatical rule does this illustrate?
In many indigenous languages, adjectives agree with the noun in gender, class, or number. Different forms for 'cow' and 'goats' indicate adjective agreement.
18. When the speaker introduces a new farm tool and immediately repeats the noun with a clarifying phrase, creating a short explanatory clause, what grammatical structure is this?
Apposition places two noun phrases side by side where the second clarifies the first (e.g., 'the hoe, the tool used to dig'). This structure is used for clarification in speech.
19. A speaker uses a particle that shows the action is still happening right now (e.g., 'is milking'). Grammatically this particle marks which aspect?
Progressive or continuous aspect markers indicate an ongoing action (e.g., 'is milking'). Hearing such a particle shows the action is in progress.
20. In a farm story you hear a verb that indicates the subject is both doing and receiving the action (e.g., 'he washed himself'). Which verbal form is this?
Reflexive forms show that the subject acts upon itself. A verb meaning 'washed himself' uses a reflexive marker or form.
21. The speaker asks 'Which goat is yours?' and uses a special relative word before the noun. What grammatical element introduces the information being asked about?
Words like 'which' or 'who' are interrogative pronouns that introduce the question about a noun. They function to ask for identification or specification.
22. When a speaker combines two actions with a special verb form meaning 'and then' or 'while', what grammatical feature are they using?
Serial verb constructions or connective aspect markers allow speakers to link actions without separate conjunctions; they express sequences or simultaneous actions.
23. A speaker emphasizes an item on the farm by changing sentence intonation rather than adding a word. Grammatically, what function can intonation serve in such languages?
Intonation (tone, stress, pitch) can mark emphasis or focus in spoken language, highlighting new or important information without changing words.
24. You hear the speaker add a short suffix to a verb to indicate that the action happened before another action (e.g., 'had fed before they left'). Which grammatical tense/aspect is being marked?
The pluperfect or past perfect marks an action completed before another past event. A suffix indicating 'had done' serves this function.
25. A farmer uses a short name followed by a special particle to call an animal directly (like saying 'Cow!' to call it). What grammatical element is this?
Vocative particles or forms are used when directly addressing or calling someone or something. Using a name with a calling particle is vocative use.
26. When listening to instructions, you notice the speaker uses a conditional marker to say 'if it rains, the crops will grow.' What grammatical function does this marker serve?
Conditional markers introduce 'if' clauses expressing conditions for something to happen. They link a condition to a result and are grammatical markers of conditionality.