Typological linguistics aims to identify and classify different types of languages based on their structural features, such as their sound systems, grammatical structures, and word order patterns.

Analytic vs. synthetic languages, tonal vs. non-tonal languages, and head-marking vs. dependent-marking languages are all common typological distinctions among languages.

Analytic languages are characterized by a relatively small number of morphemes, each of which carries a relatively large amount of meaning.

Inuktitut is an example of a polysynthetic language, which is characterized by the use of long words that incorporate multiple morphemes.

Tonal languages are characterized by the use of tones to distinguish between words.

Mandarin Chinese is an example of a tonal language, which means that the pitch of the voice can change the meaning of a word.

Head-marking languages are characterized by the use of word order to indicate grammatical relationships between words.

English is an example of a head-marking language, which means that the head of a phrase or clause typically comes before its dependents.

Dependent-marking languages are characterized by the use of affixes to indicate grammatical relationships between words.

Inuktitut is an example of a dependent-marking language, which means that grammatical relationships between words are typically indicated by affixes.

Language evolution is the process by which languages change over time.

Geographical isolation, social contact, and technological advances can all influence language evolution.

Language contact is the process by which two or more languages come into contact and influence each other.

Code-switching, pidgins and creoles, and loanwords are all examples of language contact phenomena.

A creole is a language that is created when two or more languages come into contact and combine their features.