Inflection vs. Syntax: Analyzing Synthetic and Analytical Grammatical Forms
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Inflection vs. Syntax: Analyzing Grammatical Forms
The difference between a synthetic and an analytical form or expression is fundamentally related to the mechanism by which grammatical meanings are conveyed. Whereas synthetic languages rely on inflection, analytical languages require syntactic combinations to convey such meanings.
Defining Synthetic and Analytical Forms
- Synthetic languages use inflection (affixes or morphemes added to a word) to express grammatical features, such as verbal tense, person, or number.
- Analytical languages require syntactic combinations (using multiple words, auxiliaries, or prepositions) to convey these same meanings.
Case Studies: Adjectives and Possessives
Consider the following examples:
- More complicated
- Peter’s