Discipula dicit se antea numquam in contione oratorem audivisse.

Because se is the reflexive pronoun, and it refers back to the subject of the main verb, discipula.

So:

• Discipula dicit se... audivisse = The student says that she ... heard
• Here she means the student herself

If Latin used eam, that would usually mean her, referring to some other female, not back to discipula.

Also, in this construction, se is in the accusative because it is the subject of the infinitive audivisse in an indirect statement.

After verbs like dicit meaning says, Latin very often uses an indirect statement construction. Instead of saying that she heard, Latin says, more literally, her to have heard.

So the pattern is:

• main verb: dicit
• subject of the reported statement in the accusative: se
• infinitive: audivisse

This is called the accusative-and-infinitive construction.

So:

• Discipula dicit se ... audivisse
• literally: The student says herself to have heard...
• natural English: The student says that she heard / has heard...

Audivisse is the perfect active infinitive of audio.

The perfect infinitive shows action that happened before the action of the main verb dicit. So the hearing happened earlier than the saying.

That is why the idea is:

• she says that she had heard
• or, in smoother English depending on context, she says that she has heard

Since the sentence also has numquam and antea, the sense is:

• she says that she had never before heard
• or she says that she has never before heard

Latin is marking relative time here: the hearing is earlier than the saying.

Because oratorem is the direct object of audivisse.

She heard a speaker, so a speaker is the thing or person heard. In Latin, the direct object is normally in the accusative case.

So:

• audivisse oratorem = to have heard a speaker

Do not confuse oratorem with se:

• se = subject of the infinitive in the indirect statement
• oratorem = object of audivisse

Contione is ablative singular.

It comes after in, and here in means in or at a place, so it takes the ablative.

So:

• in contione = in an assembly / at a public meeting

A useful rule is:

• in
  • ablative = location, in / on / at
• in
  • accusative = motion into, into

Here there is no motion, just location, so contio becomes contione.

Contio means a public assembly, public meeting, or a gathering where speeches are made.

So in contione suggests a setting where an orator would speak publicly. That helps explain why oratorem is a natural word here.

Depending on context, you might translate it as:

• in an assembly
• at a public meeting
• before a crowd

They work together, but they are not identical.

• numquam = never
• antea = before, previously, earlier

Together they give the idea never before or previously never.

So the sentence is not just saying she never heard a speaker at all; it is presenting that fact from the standpoint of the moment when she speaks:

• up to that point, she had never before had that experience

This combination is very natural in Latin.

Because Latin usually does not use a separate word like English that in this kind of indirect statement.

English says:

• She says that she...

Latin instead uses:

• dicit + accusative + infinitive

So that is not missing. Its function is being expressed by the whole construction se ... audivisse.

Yes. Discipula is a feminine noun and means female student or schoolgirl, depending on context.

If the sentence referred to a male student, it would normally be discipulus.

That is also why se here refers back to a feminine person, even though se itself does not have a separate feminine form.

Not really. Latin word order is much freer than English word order.

The important grammatical relationships are shown mainly by endings, not by position. So Latin can arrange the words for emphasis or style.

Here the order is quite natural:

• Discipula dicit sets up the speaker and the act of speaking
• se immediately introduces the subject of the indirect statement
• antea numquam highlights the idea never before
• in contione oratorem audivisse finishes the thought, with the infinitive audivisse placed at the end, which is very common in Latin

So even though it may feel different from English, it is normal Latin style.