Editing Chuvash language (section)

==Distribution==
[[File:The Soviet Union 1933 CPA 431 stamp (Peoples of the Soviet Union. Chuvash people).jpg|thumb|right|Stamp of the Soviet Union, Chuvash people, 1933]]
Chuvash is the native language of the [[Chuvash people]] and an official language of [[Chuvashia Republic|Chuvashia]].<ref>http://www.cv-haval.org/ru/node/54 Алос-и-Фонт, Эктор. Оценка языковой политики в Чувашии</ref><ref>http://cvlat.blogspot.com/2010/11/blog-post.html Оценка языковой политики в Чувашии</ref> There are contradictory numbers regarding the number of people able to speak Chuvash nowadays; some sources claim it is spoken by 1,640,000 persons in Russia and another 34,000 in other countries<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=chv|title=Chuvash|website=ethnologue.com|access-date=21 March 2018}}</ref> and that 86% of ethnic Chuvash and 8% of the people of other ethnicities living in Chuvashia claimed knowledge of Chuvash language during the [[2002 Russian Census|2002 census]].<ref>Russian Census 2002. [http://www.perepis2002.ru/ct/doc/TOM_04_06.xls 6. Владение языками (кроме русского) населением отдельных национальностей по республикам, автономной области и автономным округам Российской Федерации] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061104083616/http://www.perepis2002.ru/ct/doc/TOM_04_06.xls |date=4 November 2006 }}(''Knowledge of languages other than Russian by the population of republics, autonomous oblast and autonomous districts''){{in lang|ru}}</ref> However, other sources claim that the number of Chuvash speakers is on the decline, with a drop from 1 million speakers in 2010 to 700,000 in 2021; observers suggest this is due to Moscow having a lack of interest in preserving the language diversity in Russia.<ref>{{cite news |title=Languages in Russia Disappearing Faster than Data Suggests, Activists Warn |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/03/13/languages-in-russia-disappearing-faster-than-data-suggests-activists-warn-a80432 |work=The Moscow Times |date=13 March 2023}}</ref> Although Chuvash is taught at schools and sometimes used in the media, it is considered [[endangered language|endangered]] by the [[UNESCO]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mt-archive.info/LREC-2006-Zheltov.pdf|title=Zheltov, Pavel. An Attribute-Sample Database System for Describing Chuvash Affixes|website=mt-archive.info|access-date=21 March 2018|archive-date=21 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721225729/http://www.mt-archive.info/LREC-2006-Zheltov.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.helsinki.fi/~tasalmin/europe_index.html|title=UNESCO red book on endangered languages: Europe|author=Tapani Salminen|date=22 September 1999}}</ref> because [[Russian language|Russian]] dominates in most spheres of life and few children learning the language are likely to become active users.

A fairly significant production and publication of literature in Chuvash still continues. According to UNESCO's ''Index Translationum'', at least 202 books translated from Chuvash were published in other languages (mostly Russian) since ca. 1979.<ref>[http://www.unesco.org/xtrans/bsresult.aspx?a=&stxt=&sl=chv&l=&pla=&pub=&tr=&e=&udc=&d=&from=&to=&tie=a Index Translationum: translations from Chuvash] - shows 202 titles, as of 2013-01-06. The index has data since ca. 1979.</ref> However, as with most other languages of the former [[Soviet Union|USSR]], most of the translation activity took place before the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|dissolution of the USSR]]: out of the 202 translations, 170 books were published in the USSR<ref>[http://www.unesco.org/xtrans/bsresult.aspx?a=&stxt=&sl=chv&l=&c=SUN&pla=&pub=&tr=&e=&udc=&d=&from=&to=&tie=a Index Translationum: translations from Chuvash, published in the USSR] - shows 170 titles</ref> and just 17, in the post-1991 Russia (mostly, in the 1990s).<ref>[http://www.unesco.org/xtrans/bsresult.aspx?a=&stxt=&sl=chv&l=&c=RUS&pla=&pub=&tr=&e=&udc=&d=&from=&to=&tie=a Index Translationum: translations from Chuvash, published in Russia] - shows 17 titles</ref> A similar situation takes place with the translation of books from other languages (mostly Russian) into Chuvash (the total of 175 titles published since ca. 1979, but just 18 of them in post-1991 Russia).<ref>[http://www.unesco.org/xtrans/bsresult.aspx?a=&stxt=&sl=&l=chv&c=&pla=&pub=&tr=&e=&udc=&d=&from=&to=&tie=a Index Translationum: translations into Chuvash]</ref>