WASSCE SHS
A translation keeps the meaning. It does not improve the story, and it does not drop a person, a time or a place.
Translation on this paper moves words between English and the Ghanaian language of your entry. Read the direction. English into your language is not the same task as your language into English. Keep who did the action, what they did, when, and where. If the sentence says the child went to the market yesterday, the translation still has the child, the market and yesterday. Do not add a reason, a feeling, or a second event.
Do not translate into a third language. An Ewe candidate does not answer in Twi. A Ga candidate does not answer in Dangme. A word you do not know should be rendered by a plain phrase you do know, not by skipping the sentence. The tone should stay at the level of the original: a formal notice stays formal, and a remark to a friend stays plain. After you finish, read the translation as if you had not seen the source, and check that the same people are still doing the same things.
The BECE Ghanaian Language tips guide sets out comprehension, composition, grammar, literature, culture and translation. At WASSCE you sit the language on your entry, including Akan, Ewe, Ga and the others. Start practising on glearn.now with Kevin and Anna. BECE Ghanaian Language tips
Direction is the first mark. An answer in the wrong language has missed the task. Meaning is the next mark: a missing time or a missing place is a lost point, and an added reason is a change, not a translation. Spelling in the language of the entry still matters. A correct meaning in broken form can lose the language mark. Do not leave a sentence in the source language in the middle of the answer.
These are practice questions in the style of the paper, with a model answer and a mark scheme. They are not a promise of what your paper will ask.
3 marks
State what a translation must keep, and name one thing it must not add. (3 marks)
It must keep who acted, what they did, and the time or the place that was given. It must not add a reason the source did not give.
2 marks
An Ewe candidate is asked to translate a sentence into Ewe, and writes the answer in Twi. Why is that not a translation for this paper? (2 marks)
The entry is Ewe. Twi is a different language and a different paper. The task asked for Ewe.
2 marks
Why should you read the translation again without looking at the source? (2 marks)
A second reading shows whether the same people still do the same things. A missing place or an added reason is easier to see when you are not looking at the original.
More questions on this topic are inside glearn, marked as you answer, with the reason written out. The first ones need no account.
Practise Ghanaian Language freeThe way the question says. English into the language of your entry, or that language into English, are different tasks. Do not use a third language. Ewe, Ga, Twi and Fante are not substitutes for each other.
No. Keep the meaning that is there. An added reason, a dropped time, or a dropped place changes the sentence. A plain phrase you know is better than a gap. All WASSCE Ghanaian Language past questions