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Compared to other Sino-Tibetan languages, the Chinese languages have a lot less inflection. Why is that? Did Old Chinese lose affixes and agreement systems? Or did other languages in the family get influenced by other languages with more complex grammar?

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    I've been told by many specialists that Old Chinese lost affixes and therefore agreement systems.
    – jlawler
    Commented Dec 18, 2017 at 3:30
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    Sinitic is definitely the more innovative branch. The loss of morphology (which was virtually complete by Early Middle Chinese) may have been the result of language contact.
    – WavesWashSands
    Commented Dec 18, 2017 at 5:16

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Yes, Old Chinese did loose a previously existent system of affixes (and simplified their syllable structure significantly). With respect to inflection, the Tibetan languages are more conservative than the Sinitic ones.

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