All languages are classified on the ground of two basic principles – of their genealogy (origin and relations) and of their typology (structure).
Typological classification is one which is based on the distinguishing similarities and differences of the structures of languages independently on their affinity. It is also called Morphological classification as it studies forms, structures and ‘building’ components of languages.
Typological classification was firstly worked out, grounded and proposed by the brothers August and Fririch Sleggel (XVII/XIX). They distinguished inflectional (ôëåêòèâíûå), which have inflections, and non-inflectional (íåôëåêòèâíûå), which do not have inflections, languages. Besides, they distinguished synthetic (earlier) and analytical (later) languages (Drawing 1.4).
V.Gumboldt (XVII/XIX) reworked the Sleggels’ classification and distinguished four types of languages: insulating (èçîëèðóþùèå èëè êîðíåâûå), agglutinative (àããëþíàòèâíûå), incorporated (èíêîðïîðèðóþùèå) and inflectional (ôëåêòèâíûå).
Insulating languages do not have affixes and express grammatical meanings with adjoining of certain words to others with the help of Syntacategorematic (auxiliary) words. There is no difference between root and stem in such languages. Words do not change and consequently do not have any indices of their syntactic correspondence with other words. The main means of syntactic combination is adjoining. Sentence, thus, is a definite sequence of unchangeable and indivisible words-roots.
For instance:
Chinese, Vietnam, Tibetan, etc.
Chinese:
Ma – mother
Ma – hemp
Ma – horse
Ma – to scold at
Ma ma ma. Ìàìà ðóãàåò êîíÿ.
Ma ÷è ìà. Ìàìà åäåò íà êîíå.
Agglutinative (glutten (Latin) – glue, agglutino – to glue) languages are the ones in which grammatical meanings are expressed with special affixes – ‘stickers’.
For instance:
Turkish, Georgian, Japanese, etc.
Turkish:
Lar – Plural form
Da – Prepositional (ïðåäëîæíûé) case
Masa – a table
Baba – a father
Masada – on the table
Masalar – tables
Masalarda – on the tables
Babada – on the father
Babalar – fathers
Babalarda – on the fathers
Incorporated (incorporatio (Latin) – including, joining to a set) or polysynthetic (polys (Greek) – a lot of, synthesis – joining up, association, formation) languages are those in which different parts of an utterance present amorphous words-stems (words-roots) which are incorporated into united complexes number of which, in their turn, are formed with auxiliary elements.
For instance:
Majority of the languages of South America, ÷óêîòñêèé
×óêîòñêèé:
ãà – ìà – a kind of the case which shows a sign with whom or with what
ãàïojãeìà – with a spear
ãàòîðïojãeìà – with a new spear
ãàòàíïojãeìà – with a good spear
ãàòàíïåëwåíòåïîjãeìà – with a good metal spear
Inflectional languages express their grammatical meanings mainly with inflexions.
They are divided into synthetic and analytical.
Grammatical relations of words are expressed by the forms of these very words. A meaningful word alters and presents its new forms to express grammar relations For example: Russian, Ukrainian | A meaningful word is not able to alter. For that other words are used – auxiliaries. They help to express grammar relations or combine words in phrases or sentences. Peculiarity: auxiliary element (auxiliary verb) does not have a lexical meaning; notional verb does have that. For example: English, French |
Drawing 1.4. Division of languages as for the systems of changes of their grammar forms
(synthetic languages and analytical)
Old English used to be a synthetic language and used to have its own system of inflections. Though with the time (foreign intrusions, wars, cultural ties) it altered and transformed into an analytical one. Nevertheless in English some synthetic forms are still used (look for example of the 2nd characteristic of English brought under).
Characteristics of English:
For instance:
She has already been preparing for three hours (both auxiliaries – has been – do not have lexical meanings) = Îíà ãîòîâèòñÿ óæå òðè ÷àñà.
She has a nice kid (has is not an auxiliary but a notional verb here, so it has a lexical meaning to obtain, to posses sth) = Îíà èìååò ìèëîãî ðåáåíêà = Ó íåå åñòü ìèëûé ðåáåíîê.
For instance alterations:
a) of the Noun (Singular and Plural forms): a chair (Sng) – chairs (Pl);
b) of the Verb (in accordance with Tense, Person, Number): we approach (Present Simple, Plural), he approaches (Present Simple, Third Person Singular), we, he, etc. approached (Past Simple);
c) of the Adjective (Degrees of Comparison): pretty (Neutral) – prettier (Comparative) – the prettiest (Superlative).
For instance, homonymy of Grammar affixes:
Boys study (Plural, Nominative Case) – boy’s book (Singular, Possessive Case) – boys’ book (Plural, Possessive Case).
For instance:
A big boy (he) girl (she) apple (it). Compare with Russian áîëüøîé ìàëü÷èê, áîëüøàÿ äåâî÷êà, áîëüøîå ÿáëîêî.
For instance:
Table (noun) + lamp (noun) = table lamp (table is a prepositional attribute).
For instance:
Compare: It is dark. and Òåìíî.
For instance:
The Noun: one, they, that, this, those, etc.
The Verb: do, get, etc.
For instance:
Complex Object: They expected me to behave as they wanted but I was not going to allow them to manipulate me.
For instance:
I have already been there.
Yesterday we gave him a book.