Forum newsfeeds
Forum Newsfeeds


Sites for Teachers

Sites for Teachers


Go Back   UsingEnglish.com ESL Forum > Learning English > Ask a Teacher

Notices

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)  
Old 25-Dec-2003, 09:38
Anonymous
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default Which language is easier?

Which language is easier? Agglutivative or analytic?

"The grammar of a language determines how the conceptual structures are linearized as strings of words in a sentence. English and Chinese, for example, put the subject first, the verb in the middle, and the object at the end for an SVO word order. Irish and Biblical Hebrew are VSO languages that put the verb first. Latin and Japanese are SOV languages that put the verb at the end. The grammar also determines how the units of meaning, called morphemes, are combined to form words. Chinese is an extreme example of an analytic language in which almost all the morphemes can be used as stand-alone words. German is an agglutinative language, which forms compound words like Lebensversicherungsgesellschaftsangestellter (life insurance company employee). Old English was an agglutinative language like German, but as it evolved into modern English, it became almost as analytic as Chinese. "

from: Concepts in the Lexicon: Introduction , by John F. Sowa
Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
  #2 (permalink)  
Old 26-Dec-2003, 16:41
RonBee's Avatar
Moderator
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Country: USA
Posts: 13,012
Current Location: North Carolina
First Language: English
Thanks: 57
Thanked 677 Times in 609 Posts
RonBee is a splendid one to beholdRonBee is a splendid one to beholdRonBee is a splendid one to beholdRonBee is a splendid one to beholdRonBee is a splendid one to beholdRonBee is a splendid one to behold
Default

I guess you mean Which language is easier to learn? Is there any way to determine that?
__________________
~R
Reply With Quote
  #3 (permalink)  
Old 27-Dec-2003, 15:15
Editor, UsingEnglish.com
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Country: UK
Posts: 25,131
Current Location: Phnom Penh
First Language: English
Thanks: 2
Thanked 243 Times in 232 Posts
Tdol has disabled reputation
Default

If you mean as a first language, then there is little or no difference.If you mean as a second language, then it depends on the learner's background. I am learning a non-European language at the moment and it is far more difficult than the European languages I have studied before.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Tags
which, language, easier

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
The English language and its varieties italianbrother Ask a Teacher 7 22-Feb-2007 11:34
Language teaching problem Eway General Language Discussions 17 22-Feb-2007 10:15
language in comedy efcfanwirral Ask a Teacher 1 30-Aug-2004 16:15


New To Site? Need Help?

All times are GMT. The time now is 11:15.


vBulletin, Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.2.0 RC5
Copyright © 2002 - 2008 UsingEnglish.com