Afrikaans Second Language – Term Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering key Afrikaans language terms: phonetic devices, sentence types, comparison rules, punctuation, spelling marks, word relationships, adjectives, tenses, affixes, and writing conventions.

Rhyme

Repetition of similar or identical sounds, usually at the ends of lines in poetry or songs.

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds within a line of poetry; also called vowel rhyme.

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds in two or more stressed syllables or words.

Literal language

Words function exactly as they state; the surface meaning is intended.

Figurative language

Words convey a different or deeper meaning beyond the literal interpretation.

Statement sentence (Stelsin)

Sentence that makes a statement and ends with a period.

Exclamatory sentence (Uitroepsin)

Sentence expressing strong emotion; ends with an exclamation mark.

Question sentence (Vraagsin)

Sentence that asks a question and ends with a question mark.

Imperative sentence (Bevelsin)

Sentence that gives a command or request; may end with a period or exclamation mark.

Conjunction

Word that joins two clauses or sentences.

Coordinating conjunction (Groep 1)

Afrikaans conjunction that keeps normal word order (en, maar, want, of, dog, asmede).

Semi-coordinating conjunction (Groep 2)

Conjunction where the first verb of the second clause follows right after the conjunction (e.g., dus, daarna).

Subordinating conjunction (Groep 3)

Conjunction that sends the verb to the end of the second clause (e.g., omdat, nadat, sodat).

Degrees of comparison

Grammatical forms—positive, comparative, superlative—used to compare adjectives or adverbs.

Positive degree (Stellende trap)

Base form describing one thing without comparison.

Comparative degree (Vergrotende/Vergelykende trap)

Form comparing two things; often ends in ‑er.

Superlative degree (Oortreffende trap)

Form comparing more than two things; usually ends in ‑ste.

Double-consonant rule

Short-vowel words ending in one consonant double that consonant before adding ‑er/-ste (dik→dikker).

Double-vowel rule

Words with a double identical vowel drop one vowel before adding ‑er/-ste (skoon→skoner).

F-to-W rule

Words ending in ‑f change to ‑w before adding comparative endings (laf→lawer).

R-ending rule

Words ending in ‑r take ‑der in the comparative (lekker→lekkerder).

Long-vowel + g rule

Double-vowel words ending in ‑g drop the g before adding endings (droog→droër).

Short-vowel + g rule

Short-vowel words ending in ‑g add ‑ter (dig→digter).

D-ending rule

Words ending in ‑d drop the d before adding ‑er (koud→kouer).

U-ending rule

Words ending in ‑u take ‑wer (comparative) and ‑uste (superlative) (slu→sluwer).

Meer/Mees rule

Adjectives ending in ‑e use meer (comparative) and mees (superlative) (tevrede→meer tevrede).

Irregular comparison

Adjectives with non-standard forms (goed→beter→beste).

Punctuation

System of symbols that clarify meaning and structure in writing.

Full stop (Period)

Mark that ends a declarative sentence.

Comma

Mark indicating a brief pause, separation of items, or before coordinating conjunctions.

Semicolon

Mark indicating a pause longer than a comma but shorter than a period.

Colon

Mark introducing an explanation, list, or quotation.

Question mark

Punctuation placed at the end of a direct question.

Exclamation mark

Punctuation showing strong emotion, command, or urgency.

Dash (Aandagstreep)

Mark used for emphasis or to insert parenthetical information.

Parentheses (Hakkies)

Curved marks enclosing explanatory or additional material.

Hyphen (Koppelteken)

Mark connecting compound terms or breaking words at line ends.

Diaeresis (Deelteken)

Two dots above a vowel showing that two vowels are pronounced separately.

Circumflex (Kappie)

^ accent lengthening the vowel sound, often in loanwords (môre).

Grave accent

Accent slanting left used in certain Afrikaans words (nè, dè).

Acute accent

Accent slanting right indicating stress or foreign origin (café, créche).

Homonym

Word spelled and pronounced the same as another but with different meaning and origin.

Homophone

Word pronounced the same as another but spelled differently and with different meaning.

Synonym

Word with the same or nearly the same meaning as another word.

Antonym

Word with the opposite meaning of another word.

Adjective

Word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun.

Attributive adjective

Adjective placed before the noun it describes (the blue pot).

Predicative adjective

Adjective placed after a linking verb describing the subject (the pot is blue).

Intensive form

Fixed, emphatic compound indicating an extreme quality (kurkdroog = bone-dry).

Question word (Vraagwoord)

Interrogative word used to ask questions (hoe, waarom, waar).

Present tense (Teenwoordige tyd)

Verb form describing action happening now.

Past tense (Verlede tyd)

Verb form describing action that already happened; often uses “het” + ge-verb.

Future tense (Toekomende tyd)

Verb form describing action that will happen; uses “sal” + infinitive.

Prefix

Morpheme added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning (on-).

Suffix

Morpheme added to the end of a word to create a new word or express grammar (-heid).

Derivational suffix

Suffix that creates a new lexical word (hoog→hoogheid).

Inflectional suffix

Suffix that expresses grammatical information such as number or degree (mens→mense).

Acronym

Abbreviation formed from initial letters and pronounced as a word (Eskom, Absa).

Abbreviation

Shortened written form of a word or phrase (mnr. for meneer).

Capital letter (Hoofletter)

Upper-case letter used for proper nouns, titles, and sentence beginnings.