Which language type is characterized by affixes that attach to a base and each affix expresses a single grammatical category?

Which language type is characterized by affixes that attach to a base and each affix expresses a single grammatical category?

• A. Agglutinative Language
• B. Isolating Language
• C. Fusional Language
• D. Polysynthetic Language

Answer: (A)

Agglutinative structure is defined by forming words by chaining affixes to a base, with each affix expressing a single grammatical category such as tense, number, case, or person. This one-morpheme-one-meaning setup makes each affix easy to identify and separate, so you can see exactly what each piece contributes to the word’s meaning. Isolating languages typically use little to no affixation, with most meaning carried by separate words. Fusional languages mix several grammatical categories into a single affix, so a single ending can encode multiple meanings at once. Polysynthetic languages bundle many morphemes—or even entire words—into a single complex word. Thus, the description of affixes attaching to a base where each affix marks a single category points to an agglutinative language.

Agglutinative structure is defined by forming words by chaining affixes to a base, with each affix expressing a single grammatical category such as tense, number, case, or person. This one-morpheme-one-meaning setup makes each affix easy to identify and separate, so you can see exactly what each piece contributes to the word’s meaning. Isolating languages typically use little to no affixation, with most meaning carried by separate words. Fusional languages mix several grammatical categories into a single affix, so a single ending can encode multiple meanings at once. Polysynthetic languages bundle many morphemes—or even entire words—into a single complex word. Thus, the description of affixes attaching to a base where each affix marks a single category points to an agglutinative language.