This unit standard replaces unit standard 8977, " Evaluate literary texts", Level 4, 5 credits.
GLOSSARY
Acronym
A pronounceable word formed from the first letter or letters in a phrase or name e.g. SADTU for South African Democratic Teachers Union .
Additive multilingualism
A form of bilingual education in which the language of instruction is not the 1st language of the children, and is not intended to replace it. In an additive bilingual education programme the first language is maintained and supported, but the language of learning and teaching is taught alongside it. When the language of instruction is likely to replace the children's first language, this is called subtractive bilingualism.
Appropriate dress (footnote in u std): solid colour that contrasts your skin colour; appropriate for the context/audience, for example, jewellery.
Audience
The intended reader, listeners, or viewers of a particular text - in planning a piece of writing/signing learners (speakers/signers/writers/presenters) must take into consideration the purpose and audience in choosing an appropriate form of writing/signing.
Author
The creator or originator of a piece of narrative, whether signed or written.
Coherence
The underlying logical relationship, which links ideas together. Coherence is to do with ideas and meanings. A paragraph (see definition below) is coherent if all its sentences (see definition below) are connected logically so that they are easy to follow. An essay/signed narrative is coherent if its paragraphs are logically connected and the ideas have a unity, forming a logical whole.
Cohesion
Linking ideas by means of language (e.g. the grammar or syntax of a sentence or paragraph) and/or use of space, using logical connectors or linking words/signs such as conjunctions, non manual features (see definition below), pronouns to hold a paragraph together and give it a linguistic unity.
Collage
A form of art in which a variety of materials, such as photographs, fabric, objects, hand-drawn pieces, and printed text, are attached to a surface. Learners can demonstrate their understanding of many themes and issues through the choice of materials and design elements of a collage.
Colloquialism
A word or expression used in everyday conversation but not in formal language.
Constructed dialogue/role shifting
Constructed dialogue is when the signer alternately assumes the role of various characters within a story/narrative, using first person perspective. Ways of doing this can include use of space, head movements, eye gaze, body orientation and movements, etc.
Context
That which precedes or follows a word/sign or text and is essential to its meaning.
The broader literal, social or cultural environment to which a text (or part of a text) is related and which affects its readers'/viewers' understanding.
Controlling idea
An important or central concept, theme, or argument that is used to unify a signed, written, oral, or media text.
Conventions
Accepted practices or rules in the use of language. Some conventions help convey meaning (e.g. use of space, the rules of grammar of a language, punctuation typefaces, capital letters, etc.); others assist in the presentation of content (e.g. use of sign placement, table of contents, headings, footnotes, charts, captions, lists, pictures, index, etc.)
Creative thinking
The process of thinking about ideas or situations in inventive and unusual ways in order to understand them better and respond to them in a new and constructive manner. Learners think creatively in all subject areas when they imagine, invent, alter, or improve a concept or product.
Critical thinking
The process of thinking about ideas or situations in order to understand them fully, identify their implications, and/or make a judgement about what is sensible or reasonable to believe or do.
Discourse
Connected speech or signing or writing which is longer than a conventional sentence; a formal term for a talk, a conversation, or the written/signed treatment of a subject.
Diction
The choice of words or phrases or signs in speech or writing or signing; the particular words or phrases or signs chosen to express an idea.
Editing
The process of correcting grammatical, usage, punctuation/non manual features, and spelling errors to ensure that the writing/signing is clear and correct. The editing process also includes checking writing/signing for coherence of ideas and cohesion of structure. In media, editing involves the selection and juxtaposition of sounds and/or images.
Essay/signed narrative
A prose composition that discusses a subject or makes an argument. This type of writing often presents the writer's/presenter's own ideas on a topic. The SASL equivalent of this would be a signed narrative.
Etymology
The origin and history of the form and meaning of a word/sign.
Figurative language
Words or signs or phrases used in a non-literal way to create a desired effect (e.g. simile, personification, metaphor).
Fluency
The word comes from the flow of a river and suggests a coherence and cohesion that gives language use the quality of being natural, easy to use and easy to interpret.
Foreshadowing
A device in literature in which an author provides an indication of future events in a plot.
Forms of text
Any particular type of text, having specific and distinctive characteristics arising from its purpose, function, and audience.
Written/signed forms may include narratives (folklore/short stories/novels/dramas), dialogues, sets of instructions, advertisements, editorials, brochures, manuals, agendas and minutes, diary entries, journals, lists, charts, plays, reports, journals, essays/signed narratives, poems and letters.
Oral/signed forms may include conversations, debates, seminars, panel discussions, interviews, role play, monologues, prayers, lectures, negotiations, and speeches/presentations
Visual genres may include photographs, documentaries, travelogues, feature films, soap operas, and cartoons. These can be analysed into more specific genres, for example, feature films could be grouped as westerns, thrillers, dramas, romances, musicals and comedies.
Free verse
Poetry written/signed without a regular metrical pattern, but based on natural rhythms of speech/signing and free expression rather than on a predetermined form. Free verse may be rhymed or unrhymed.
Genre
The types or categories into which literary works are grouped (e.g. signed narrative, novel, short story, essay, poetry, drama, or film)
Grammar
A description of the structure of a language, particularly the way words, signs and phrases are formed and combined to produce sentences. It takes into account the meanings, functions and organisation of these sentences in the system of the language.
Graphic organiser
A visual representation such as a chart, table, timeline, flowchart, or diagram used to record, analyse, synthesise, and assess information and ideas.
Hyperbole
A literary device in which exaggeration is used deliberately for effect or emphasis (eg a flood of tears).
Iconicity
Iconicity as a poetic strategy is the use of signs to represent action/movement, and is often used in conjunction with repetition of parameters and rhythm.
Idiom
A group of words/signs that, through usage, has taken on a special meaning different from the literal meaning (e.g. "keep your shirt on! Or "It's raining cats and dogs").
Implicit meaning
Ideas and concepts that are present but stated indirectly.
Inference
A conclusion drawn from evidence.
Information processing
A general term for the process by which information is identified, understood, stored, organised, retrieved, combined and communicated to form new knowledge.
Irony
A statement or situation that has underlying meaning different from its literal or surface meaning.
Jargon
Apeech, signing or writing used by a group of people who belong to a particular trade, profession, or any other group bound together by mutual interest, e.g. the jargon of law, medical jargon. Jargon is useful when used within a trade or profession, but when it is used to exclude listeners, /readers/viewers from an interaction, it is potentially hurtful or even harmful.
Key questions
There are five common questions that help discover the essential facts: who, what, where, when, and why? In newspaper reports, it is important to cover these questions at the beginning.
Literary (stylistic) device
A particular pattern of words/signs, a figure of speech, or a technique used in literature to produce a specific effect (e.g. hand shape repetition, rhythm, rhyme, parallel structure, analogy, comparison, contrast, irony, foreshadowing, simile, metaphor, personification, pun, oxymoron, symbol).
Mind-map
The preparation of a graphic representation of key words.
Multimedia presentation
A work that uses a combination of media to present information and ideas (e.g. a presentation using slides, computer graphics, posters, and video clips).
Non verbal language/communication
Communication without the use of words/signs, which could be done by gestures or could refer to total body language.
Obfuscation
The deliberate use of words/signs/phrases/jargon/idioms that will not be understood by the listener/reader/viewer. It is a clouding of the issue to avoid taking responsibility for an action or to confuse the listener/viewer into accepting something that should not be lightly accepted
Onomatopoeia
The use of a word having a sound that echoes its sense (e.g. buzz, hum, bang)
Oxymoron
A combination of words/signs with contradictory meanings, used deliberately for effect. It is usually formed by using an adjective to qualify a noun with an opposite meaning (e.g. an open secret).
Paragraph(s)
Where appropriate, 'paragraph (s)' should be read as 'chunks of sign'.
Parameters
Parameters are the building blocks of signs: handshape, location, movement, palm orientation, and non manual features.
Paraphrase
A restatement/expression of an idea or text using one's own words/signs.
Point of view
In fiction, the position of the narrator in relation to the story and audience (e.g. limited/ omniscient/ third-person/first-person narrator or multiple narrators.
Power relations
When a particular group dominates other groups. This dominance could be related to gender, race, nationality, disability or language groups. In this document, the focus is on how the use of language (the choice of words) indicates a relationship that is neutral, empowered or disempowered.
Reading/viewing strategies
Skills and approaches used before, during and after reading/viewing to determine the meaning and increase understanding of a text. Examples are:
Scanning: a type of reading/viewing used to locate a particular piece of information without necessarily attending to other parts of a text
Skimming: a type of reading/viewing used to identify only the main idea or ideas or to pick out any words in capitals/ in italics/underlined, as well as any visuals or font indicators that would help a reader/viewer to understand a passage.
Sifting: selecting the most important ideas, words, facts or finding only those details relevant to a task or purpose
Register
Speech/signing variety used by a particular group of people, usually sharing the same occupation or the same interests. A speaker/writer/presenter/signer must choose signs/words/images that are easily understood by the listener/reader/viewer/audience - the pitch must suit the purpose.
Research
Involves a systematic investigation involving the study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and seek out truth. The following stages are involved: selecting a topics, narrowing the focus, locating appropriate resources, gathering information, analysing material and forming conclusions, presenting the information in written and/or oral/signed form, and documenting the sources of information and ideas.
Rhetorical question
A question not asked for information but for dramatic effect. The question is usually either one that does not need an answer, as the issue is self-evident, or one that the speaker/signer/writer/presenter proceeds to answer immediately.
Role play
A dramatic technique in which participants act the part of another character, usually in order to explore the character's thoughts, feelings, and values.
Paragraph (in relation to SASL)
A paragraph is a coherent and cohesive collection of sentences. Its boundaries may be indicated by manual or non manual devices.
Presenting/signing (also refer to viewing)
SASL does not have a written form. Therefore, reading and writing/presenting outcomes take on a different form, that is, a receptive and productive competence. For simplicity, the unit standards refer to viewing and presenting respectively.
Sentence (in relation to SASL)
A sentence is a unit of meaning made up of a collection of signs and non manual features, always including a verb, and adhering to specific grammatical rules of SASL .
Sign devices
Sign devices are visual strategies used in signed poetry, for example, rhythm, placement, role shifting, and repetition of handshape, location, movement, palm orientation, and non manual features.
Sign parameter
The building blocks of the sign/word: handshape, location, movement, palm orientation, non-manual sign.
Sign devices
These include register, non-manual features (NMFs), placement, role-shift, parameter
Slang
Casual, very informal speech/signing, using expressive but informal words and expressions. Slang is usually related to age or social group rather than to trade or profession (jargon). It is used to stress an identity for those in the know and to exclude those who do not know the terms, for example, words to describe money, grown-ups, police, and activities.
Stylistic devices
A particular pattern of words, a figure of speech or technique used in literature to produce a specific effect, e.g. rhyme, parallel structures, short or one word sentences, analogies, comparisons, contrasts, irony, foreshadowing, similes, metaphors.
Symbol
Something that stands for or represents an abstract idea.
Syntax
The way in which words are arranged to form larger grammatical structures (e.g. phrases, clauses, and sentences).
Technical language
The terminology used in a field or understood by a trade, profession or group of people e.g. in metal -working, the term "pig" means a mould for casting metal. It differs from jargon in being more generally understood and used, for example, by many people rather than a few and it does not have the negative connotations that the word "jargon" carries.
Text
Texts refer to signed, spoken, written, or visual communications, including sign language that communicates meaning to an audience or reader/viewer. A text may be considered from the point of view of its structure, context and function.
Spoken/signed texts: May include conversations, speeches/presentations, prayers, and songs,
Written/signed texts: May include poetry, drama, novels, letters, magazine and newspaper articles, paragraphs, essays/signed narratives, and scripts
Visual texts: May include photographs, posters, cartoons, advertisements, environmental prints (road signs), maps, diagrams, charts, and films
Tone
The quality and timbre (distinctive character) of the voice used in speaking; the height of pitch and change of pitch which is associated with the pronunciation of syllables or words and which affects the meaning of the word.
Topic sentence
The sentence that expresses the central idea in a paragraph. In SASL, repetition of important signs occurs throughout the paragraph to express the topic of the paragraph or a number of paragraphs.
Voice
In writing: a work's distinctive style of expression, personal or impersonal, conveyed through the author's use of vocabulary, sentence structure, and imagery. In oral/signed communication: the quality of sound produced by a speaker. In grammar: a property of verbs (e.g. active and passive voice).
Writing process
The process involved in producing a polished piece of writing. It comprises several stages. The main stages are:
Generating ideas
Choosing a form of writing to suit the topic, purpose and audience
Developing a plan for writing
Organising ideas
Writing and revising drafts
Editing
Proofreading
Producing and publishing
Venn diagram
Graphs that use circles to present connections and intersections.
Viewing (also referring to signing)
SASL does not have a written form. Therefore, reading and writing/presenting outcomes take on a different form, that is, a receptive and productive competence. For simplicity, the unit standards refer to viewing and presenting respectively. |
