Assignment — Tutor Assignments is a Pro addon and is locked on this site, so submit this as a written reflection in your notes or the course Q&A.
Lesson 4.8
Teaching-point outline
- Declining without shame
- Softening requests
- Practise dialogues: accept / refuse / postpone
Lesson body
Unity does not mean you must say yes to every request. Polite refusal protects relationships by declining without shame—for either side. Soft speech lets you postpone, suggest another time, or offer a smaller help when you cannot meet the full ask. These are standard communicative skills; in Temne practice they should be learned from verified models, because blunt calques from English can sound harsher than you intend.
Practice triangle (write in English, then replace with verified Temne):
- Accept — Yes, I can help with ___ on ___.
- Refuse — Thank you for asking; I cannot do that, and I still honour you.
- Postpone — Not today; can we speak on ___?
[Instructor: add verified Temne soft-refusal and postponement phrases.]
Assignment prompt
Title: Three soft dialogues
Draft three short dialogues (8–12 lines each) for: (a) accepting a small favour request, (b) refusing a money request politely, (c) postponing a visit. Use English fully. Where you know a verified Temne greeting or thanks from class, you may include it—label any unverified line as `[needs verification]` rather than guessing.
Admin: Complete when all three dialogues show warmth, clear boundaries, and no fabricated Temne vocabulary presented as real.