agglutinative (adj.)

A term which characterizes a type of language established by COMPARATIVE LINGUISTICS using STRUCTURAL (as opposed to DIACHRONIC) criteria, and focusing on the characteristics of the WORD: in agglutinative or agglutinating languages, words typically contain a linear sequence of MORPHS – as seen in English dis/establish/ment – and thus contrast with ISOLATING and INFLECTIONAL languages. As always in such classifications, the categories are not clear-cut: different languages will display the characteristic of agglutination to a greater or lesser degree. Languages which display agglutination to a major extent include Turkish and Japanese.