What is an analytic language?
Q: What is an analytic language?
A: An analytic language is a language that organizes words and grammar by a strict word order instead of inflections, or word endings that show grammar.
Q: What are some examples of analytic languages?
A: Examples of analytic languages include Chinese, English, Vietnamese, Thai, Khmer, and Lao.
Q: How does the sentence structure work in Chinese?
A: In Chinese, sentences are mostly in the SVO (subject-verb-object) word order. So the sentence must be "I eat noodles", not "I noodles eat" or "eat I noodles". The verb and subject do not change based on the object or number.
Q: Does Modern English have any inflections?
A: Yes, Modern English does have some inflections based on the subject (the verb "eat" becomes "eats" when the subject is a third person "he/she/it") and number ("noodle" is singular while "noodles" is plural), but aside from that there are almost none. Therefore it can be considered an analytic language.
Q: How did Old English differ from Modern English?
A: Old English was an inflectional language and content words could have several different word endings much like German today. However due to invasions by other languages such as French, Danish, and Latin which caused many rulers to become second language speakers of English, its grammar simplified over time to what it is today.
