Zambia School Certificate / GCE — Chitonga (3154)

In school Chitonga, a noun such as muntu is typically analysed as

• Aa prefix plus a stem
• Ba tense marker plus an object infix only
• Can English root with a silent French article
• Da verb extension with no class prefix

What is the regular plural of Chitonga muntu (person)?

• Amintu
• Bbantu
• Czintu
• Dkuntu

Cintu (thing) belongs with which regular Chitonga plural?

• Abantu
• Bmintu
• Czintu
• Dtuntu

In Chitonga, the ku- on kulya and kubona is best described as

• Aa possessive pronoun
• Ba past-tense infix
• Can infinitive (verbal noun) prefix meaning 'to …'
• Da diminutive noun prefix

In Ndilalanga ('I am looking'), the opening ndi- marks

• Athe first-person singular subject
• Ba remote-past tense
• Ca class 7 object
• Da negative prefix

The Form 1 language-structure syllabus asks learners to classify words into word classes. Which set is the list named there?

• AOnly nouns and English articles
• BNouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, conjunctions, locatives and interjections
• CTense, aspect and mood only
• DLetters, essays and reports only

Which punctuation mark should close the Chitonga question 'Muli buti'?

• AA comma only
• BA question mark
• CAn ellipsis in every case
• DNo mark, because Chitonga does not use punctuation

Mwana (child) and bana (children) illustrate which noun-class pairing?

• Aci- / zi-
• Bku- / ma-
• Cmu- / ba- (with the expected sound change of the prefix before -ana)
• Dka- / tu- diminutives only

In Ndilalanga, the marker -la- is the tense/aspect piece that school grammar associates with

• Apresent continuous or habitual (and, in some verbs, near future)
• Bthe infinitive only
• Ca reciprocal extension meaning 'each other'
• Dthe remote-past exclusive marker

Which marker is the usual simple-past (and remote-past) piece in a verb such as ndakakuta?

• A-la-
• B-aka-
• C-ya-ku-
• Dku- only, with no other marker

Ndiyakukuta is best labelled as

• Apresent perfect only
• Ban imperative plural
• Csimple future ('I will …')
• Da negative past

Ku jikila (to cook for) is an example of which verbal extension named in the syllabus?

• AThe passive
• BThe applicative (applied) extension, adding a beneficiary or location
• CThe diminutive noun prefix
• DA locative copula

Ku bonana, built from kubona (to see), most clearly expresses

• Aa reciprocal action: to see each other
• Ba simple past of 'see'
• Ca locative 'see at'
• Da negative 'not see'

In mu cikolo versus ku cikolo, the locative prefixes mainly contrast

• Apast versus future tense
• Bsingular versus plural of cikolo
• C'in/inside' (mu-) versus 'at/to' (ku-)
• Dhuman versus non-human class

Which three pronoun types does the Form 1 syllabus name for identification and sentence use?

• AOnly relative pronouns borrowed from English
• BInterrogative articles and gerunds
• CPersonal, possessive and demonstrative
• DImperative, subjunctive and infinitive

Sunu (today) in a sentence such as 'Sunu ndilaya ku cikolo' functions as

• Aa class 1 noun prefix
• Ba reciprocal verb extension
• Ca punctuation mark
• Dan adverb of time

Which pair is the best school-level example of a countable noun versus a typically uncountable mass noun in Chitonga?

• AMwana (child) versus maanzi (water)
• BKubona versus kulya (both infinitives, so neither is a noun)
• CNdi- versus ba- (subject markers, not nouns)
• DA question mark versus a comma

Monze is a proper noun, while munzi is a common noun. The key school distinction is that

• Acommon nouns must always be written in capital letters and proper nouns never are
• Bproper nouns name a particular person, place or institution; common nouns name a class of…
• Cproper nouns cannot appear in Chitonga sentences
• Dcommon nouns are always verbs in disguise

Busongo (wisdom) is best classified, in the syllabus noun types, as

• Aa concrete noun naming a tool you can touch
• Ban abstract noun naming a quality or idea
• Ca personal pronoun
• Dan ideophone of sudden noise

Changing a sentence from active to passive voice, as the syllabus requires, mainly means

• Atranslating every word into English
• Bremoving all prefixes from the verb
• Cchanging a proverb into a riddle
• Dturning the former object into the subject and marking the verb as 'being done'

Which sentence is punctuated as direct speech rather than indirect speech?

• ABamaama wakaamba kuti bana balalya.
• BBamaama wakaamba kuti bana bali ku cikolo.
• CBamaama wakaamba, "Bana balalya."
• DBamaama wakaamba kuti nji nsima.

When the syllabus asks you to analyse a sentence into parts, the two main parts are

• Aprologue and epilogue
• Bsubject and predicate
• Csource language and target language only
• Dskimming and scanning

Why does the syllabus require learners to distinguish long and short vowels in Chitonga words?

• ALong vowels are used only in English loanwords and never in native words
• BShort vowels are illegal in school orthography
• CVowel length can change word meaning
• DTone has been abolished, so length is the only remaining sound feature

The syllabus names intensive and applicative among verbal extensions. What is the difference in meaning?

• AIntensive makes a noun plural; applicative makes it singular
• BBoth simply mark past tense
• CApplicative is only used in English; intensive is only used in songs
• DIntensive strengthens or emphasises the action; applicative adds a beneficiary, reason or…

Reduplicated words are on the Form 4 word-building syllabus because reduplication typically

• Achanges or shades meaning (for example intensity, distribution or repetition) by repeatin…
• Bturns every noun into a future-tense verb
• Cis a punctuation error that examiners always penalise
• Dexists only in Malawi Tonga, not in Zambian Chitonga

In 'Muntu uulalima munda uli tata', the string uulalima munda is functioning as

• Aa separate title of a book
• Ba relative clause telling us which person is meant
• Ca proverb that must never be analysed
• Da future-tense marker standing alone

The syllabus treats homophones and homonyms as different word-relationship topics. The useful school distinction is that

• Ahomophones are always verbs and homonyms are always ideophones
• Bboth terms mean 'synonym' and can be used interchangeably
• Chomophones sound the same but may be spelled differently; homonyms share the same form wi…
• Dhomonyms are only English words that must never appear in Chitonga

Form 4 vocabulary work asks learners to use words denotatively and connotatively. Denotation is

• Athe word's extra emotional or cultural colouring
• Bthe word's basic, literal dictionary meaning
• Cany spelling mistake in a composition
• Dthe name of a Tonga ceremony

What is the usual meaning of the greeting Mwabuka buti?

• AGood night / sleep well
• BHow did you wake? — the ordinary morning greeting
• CWhat is your clan name?
• DHow much do the cattle cost?

Twalumba in everyday Chitonga most nearly means

• AGo away at once
• BThank you
• CThe cattle have escaped
• DWhat is the time?

Mwabonwa is best glossed as

• Aa future-tense of 'to buy'
• Bthe Chitonga word for 'school'
• Ca greeting/welcome ('you have been seen')
• Da negative answer meaning 'never'

Which pair correctly matches the everyday Chitonga answers 'yes' and 'no'?

• AKabotu / twalumba
• BIyii (or iyi) / pepe
• CCikolo / bbuku
• DKomwe / tobilo

The Form 1 syllabus requires counting in a Zambian language. Which Chitonga numeral means 'one'?

• Atotatwe
• Btosanwe
• Ckomwe
• Dtone

Tobilo in Chitonga counting is

• Aone
• Btwo
• Cfour
• Dfive

Cikolo in school Chitonga means

• Ariver
• Bschool
• Cgoat
• Dwisdom

Ng'ombe in Chitonga denotes

• Awater
• Ba book
• Ccattle
• Da bicycle

If someone asks 'Nduwe ni?' a well-formed reply can begin with

• ANdime …
• BPepe cikolo …
• CKuula maanzi …
• DTotatwe only, with no name

Which naming set is internally consistent in Chitonga?

• ABatonga = the language; Chitonga = one person; Mutonga = a Lozi ceremony
• BMutonga = one Tonga person; Batonga = Tonga people; Chitonga = the language
• CChitonga = cattle; Mutonga = water; Batonga = a punctuation mark
• DMutonga = Malawi Tumbuka; Chitonga = English only

Which pair is the best synonym relationship for school vocabulary work?

• AIyii and pepe
• BKomwe and tosanwe
• CKabotu and a reply that one is well/fine after Muli buti?
• DCikolo and ng'ombe

Iyii and pepe stand in which word relationship?

• AHomophones that always share spelling
• BAntonyms (opposites)
• CCollective nouns
• DIdeophones of colour only

In the listening-and-speaking syllabus, a riddle lesson expects learners to

• Asay and respond to riddles and also create new ones
• Breplace all riddles with English crossword puzzles only
• Ctreat riddles as illegal in school Chitonga
• Duse riddles only as the closing of a formal complaint letter

A story about imagined animals who talk, invented to teach a lesson, is

• Aa non-fiction report of a witnessed incident
• Ba curriculum vitae
• Cfiction
• Da table of contents

When you analyse a told story, the syllabus especially wants you to identify

• Aonly the printer's ISBN
• Bwhether the story can replace Paper 3154/2
• Cthe features/elements of the story and its moral lesson
• Dthe ECZ grade boundary for Grade 1

A Chitonga proverb (kaulu / maabbulo) is best described as

• Aa full autobiography of Chief Monze
• Ban ECZ registration receipt
• Ca punctuation mark used only in songs
• Da short traditional saying that packages wisdom for a particular situation

The proverb 'Aabbwe mpwakkede takunyigwi mazyu' ('Do not mess the stone where you were seated') is best used when

• Awarning someone not to quarrel with people they are about to leave, because they may need…
• Bcelebrating a harvest at Lwiindi Gonde
• Ccounting cattle from komwe to tosanwe
• Dconverting active voice to passive voice

'Aabantu taatiki musinza' ('Where there are people, no soup is spilled') encourages the hearer to

• Arefuse all help and work in total secrecy
• Bshare a problem so that many people's experience can help solve it
• Cspill soup as a ritual at Nkolola
• Dwrite a curriculum vitae in English only

'Atika maanzi aatakwe buyoleke' ('Once water spills you cannot gather it again') is used when

• Aa learner is asked to skim a newspaper for a date
• Ba speaker wants a synonym for cikolo
• Csomething harmful has happened and cannot be reversed
• Dthe examiner wants the plural of muntu

'Bwaato tabulindi muntu bulindilwa aachito' compares a canoe that will not wait at the ford. Its teaching is

• Aalways travel by canoe and never by bus
• BValley Tonga people must not farm
• Cproverbs may not be used in debate
• Dbe punctual; the boat (or bus) will not wait