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Agglutinative language facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

An agglutinative language is a type of language where words are built by adding many small parts together. Think of it like snapping LEGO bricks onto a main block! Each small part, called a morpheme, has its own clear meaning. When you add these parts, they change the word's meaning or its job in a sentence.

The cool thing about these languages is that the main part of the word can often stand alone. And the added parts usually don't change their shape or sound much, making them easy to spot.

How Words Are Built

In agglutinative languages, words are like puzzles where each piece adds a specific meaning. These pieces are called morphemes. They can be prefixes (at the start), suffixes (at the end), or even parts in the middle.

Chinook Language Example

Let's look at an example from the Chinook language, spoken by some Native American tribes:

  • a–č–i–m–l–ud–a means "He will give it to you."
    • Each dash separates a small part:
      • a– and –a show it's about the future.
      • –č– means "he."
      • –i– means "him."
      • –m– means "thee" (an old way to say "you").
      • –l– means "to."
      • –ud– means "give."

See how many meanings are packed into one word?

Hungarian Language Example

The Hungarian language is another great example. You can see how new words are made by adding suffixes:

  • szent: This means holy.
  • szentség: By adding –ség, it becomes holiness.
  • szentségtelen: Adding –telen to szentség makes it holinessless (meaning unholy or profane).

Turkish Language Example

In Turkish language, you can also see how parts are added to a base word:

  • ev: This means "home."
  • evler: Adding –ler makes it "homes" (plural).
  • evlerden: Adding –den to evler makes it "from the homes" or "from the houses."

Languages That Build Words

Many languages around the world use this agglutinative style. Here is a list of some modern agglutinative languages:

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Lengua aglutinante para niños

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