Isolating (analytic) language 孤立語 (孤立语)

gūlìyǔ · from English

What is an isolating language?

An isolating or analytic language has little or no inflection; grammar is expressed by word order and separate particles, as in Mandarin, Vietnamese and Thai.

Words in isolating languages do not change form for tense, number or case. Instead, time words, aspect particles and word order carry the grammar. That makes Mandarin grammar feel easy at first, but meaning then depends heavily on context, particles and fixed word order.

Examples

我昨天去了 wǒ zuótiān qù le (I went yesterday: no verb change); Vietnamese tôi đã ăn (I PAST eat); Thai ฉันกินแล้ว chǎn kin láew (I have eaten)

Kungfucius says: No conjugation tables. The price is that word order is now load-bearing.