Editing Chuvash language (section)

==Classification==
Chuvash is the most distinctive of the [[Turkic languages]] and cannot be understood by other Turkic speakers, whose languages have varying degrees of [[mutual intelligibility]] within their respective subgroups. Chuvash is classified, alongside the long-extinct [[Bulgar language|Bulgar]], as a member of the [[Oghur languages|Oghuric]] branch of the Turkic language family, or equivalently, the sole surviving descendant of West Old Turkic.<ref>{{cite book|first1=András|last1=Róna-Tas|first2=Árpád|last2=Berta|title=West Old Turkic|volume=2|page=1176|year=2011|publisher=Harrassowitz|location=Wiesbaden}}</ref> Since the surviving literary records for the non-Chuvash members of Oghuric ([[Bulgar language|Bulgar]] and possibly [[Khazar language|Khazar]]) are scant, the exact position of Chuvash within the Oghuric family cannot be determined.

Despite grammatical similarity with the rest of Turkic language family, the presence of changes in Chuvash pronunciation (which are hard to reconcile with other members of the Turkic family) has led some scholars to see Chuvash as originating not from Proto-Turkic but from another proto-language spoken at the time of Proto-Turkic (in which case Chuvash and all the remaining Turkic languages would be part of a larger language family).<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Linguistics|page=39}}</ref>

Italian historian and philologist [[Igor de Rachewiltz]] noted a significant distinction of the Chuvash language from other Turkic languages. According to him, the Chuvash language does not share certain common characteristics with Turkic languages to such a degree that some scholars consider Chuvash as an independent branch from Turkic and Mongolic. The Turkic classification of Chuvash was seen as a compromise solution for classification purposes.<ref>''Rachewiltz, Igor de.'' [http://сувары.рф/node/754 Introduction to Altaic philology: Turkic, Mongolian, Manchu] / by Igor de Rachewiltz and Volker Rybatzki; with the collaboration of Hung Chin-fu. p. cm. — (Handbook of Oriental Studies = Handbuch der Orientalistik. Section 8, Central Asia; 20). — Leiden; Boston, 2010. — P. 7.</ref>{{efn|Rachewiltz's classification implies that Chuvash is a separate branch of the wider "[[Altaic]]" language grouping, which is itself controversial the general consensus within linguistic circles is that it s a [[sprachbund]], rather than a language family.}}

The Oghuric branch is distinguished from the rest of the Turkic family (the [[Common Turkic languages]]) by two [[sound change]]s: ''r'' corresponding to Common Turkic ''z'' and ''l'' corresponding to Common Turkic ''š''.<ref>Johanson (1998); cf. Johanson (2000, 2007) and the articles pertaining to the subject in Johanson & Csató (ed., 1998).</ref> The first scientific fieldwork description of Chuvash, by [[August Ahlqvist]] in 1856, allowed researchers to establish its proper affiliation.<ref>{{cite book|last=Korhonen|first=Mikko|title=Finno-Ugrian Language Studies in Finland 1828-1918|publisher=Societas Scientiarum Fennica|year=1986|isbn=951-653-135-0|location=Helsinki|page=80}}</ref>

Some scholars suggest [[Hunnic language|Hunnish]] had strong ties with Chuvash<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pritsak |first=Omeljan |author-link=Omeljan Pritsak |date=1982 |title=The Hunnic Language of the Attila Clan |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41036005 |journal=Harvard Ukrainian Studies |publisher=[[Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute]] |volume=IV |issue=4 |pages=470 |issn=0363-5570 |jstor=41036005 |quote="The language had strong ties to Bulgar language and to modern Chuvash, but also had some important connections, especially lexical and morphological, to Ottoman Turkish and Yakut" |place=Cambridge, Massachusetts}}</ref> and classify Chuvash as separate Hunno-Bulgar.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pritsak |author-first=Omeljan |title=Turkic-Bulgarian-Hungarian relations |year=1981 |location=Budapest |chapter=The Proto-Bulgarian Military Inventory Inscriptions}}</ref> However, such speculations are not based on proper linguistic evidence, since the language of the Huns is almost unknown except for a few attested words and personal names. Scholars generally consider Hunnish as unclassifiable.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Savelyev |first=Alexander |title=Chuvash and the Bulgharic Languages |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/41762/chapter-abstract/354239965?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false |access-date=2024-03-30 |website=academic.oup.com |date=27 May 2020 |pages=448 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-880462-8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Golden |first=Peter B. |title=An introduction to the history of the Turkic peoples: ethnogenesis and state-formation in medieval and early modern Eurasia and the Middle East |date=1992 |publisher=O. Harrassowitz |isbn=978-3-447-03274-2 |series=Turcologica |location=Wiesbaden |pages=88 89}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=RÓNA-TAS |first=ANDRÁS |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.7829/j.ctv280b77f |title=Hungarians and Europe in the Early Middle Ages |date=1999-03-01 |publisher=Central European University Press |isbn=978-963-386-572-9 |pages=208|doi=10.7829/j.ctv280b77f }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sinor |first=Denis |title=Studies in medieval inner Asia |date=1997 |publisher=Ashgate |isbn=978-0-86078-632-0 |series=Collected studies series |location=Aldershot, Hampshire |pages=336}}</ref> Chuvash is so divergent from the main body of Turkic languages that some scholars formerly considered Chuvash to be a [[Uralic language|Uralic]] language.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Savelyev |first=Alexander |date=2020-01-01 |title=Chuvash and the Bulgharic languages |url=https://www.academia.edu/43117302 |journal=The Oxford Guide to the Transeurasian Languages |pages=446–464 |doi=10.1093/oso/9780198804628.003.0028 |isbn=978-0-19-880462-8 |quote=Early scholarship from the 18th century associated Chuvash with the Uralic languages, being unable to disentangle complicated areal phenomena in the Volga-Kama region (see, e.g., language groupings in Pallas 1787–1789). The Turkic origin of Chuvash was proposed no later than by Klaproth in 1828 and convincingly proved by Schott in 1841. In 1863, Feizkhanov managed to read three grave epitaphs in the Volga Bulghar language based on his knowledge of the contemporary Chuvash. Strong arguments relating Chuvash to Volga Bulghar were summarized by Ašmarin in 1902; since then, the Volga Bulghar → Chuvash linguistic continuity has gained general acceptance in the field. Together with its extinct relatives, Chuvash forms the separate Bulgharic branch of the Turkic family, which exhibits many differences from the so-called Common Turkic languages}}</ref> Conversely, other scholars today regard it as an Oghuric language significantly influenced by the [[Finno-Permic languages|Finno-Ugric]] languages.<ref name="MiestamoTammWagner-Nagy2015">{{cite book | author1 = Matti Miestamo | author2 = Anne Tamm | author3 = Beáta Wagner-Nagy | date = 24 June 2015 | title = Negation in Uralic Languages | publisher = John Benjamins Publishing Company | pages = 646 | isbn = 978-90-272-6864-8 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qmwCCgAAQBAJ}}</ref>

The following sound changes and resulting sound correspondences are typical:<ref>Johanson (1998: 89-197).</ref><ref name="Agyagási 2019: passim">Agyagási (2019: passim)</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Sound change from Proto-Turkic
!Example of sound correspondence
|-
|*/ɾʲ/ > ''r''
|хӗр (hĕr) : [[Turkish language|Turkish]] ''kız'' 'girl'
|-
|*/lʲ/ > ''l'',
but occasionally /lʲ/ > ''ś''
|хӗл (hĕl) : Turkish ''kış'' ‘winter’ 
пуҫ (puş) : Turkish ''baş'' ‘head’
|-
|*''y'' > ''ǰ'' > ''č'' > ''ś''
|ҫул (şul) : Turkish ''yol'' ‘road’
|-
|*-''n'' > -''m''
|тӗтӗм (tĕtĕm) : Turkish ''tütün'' ‘smoke’
|-
|*-''ŋ'' > -''n'' (sometimes -''m'')
|ҫӗнӗ (şĕnĕ) : Yakut саҥа, Turkish ''yeni'' 'new' (< Proto-Turkic *''yaŋï'', ''yeŋi'')
|-
|*-''d'' > -''ð'' > -''z'' > -''r''
|ура (ura) : [[Tuvan language|Tuvan]] адак, Turkish ''ayak'' (< Proto-Turkic *''adak'') ‘foot’
|-
|*[q] (i.e. */k/ in [[Back vowel|back]] environments) > ''χ''
But dropped before later *''y''
|хура (hura) : Turkish ''kara'' 'black'
юн (jun) : Turkish ''kan'' 'blood' (Proto-Turkic *''qaːn'' > Oguric *''χaːn > *χyan > *yån'')
|-
|*-/k/ (both -[q] or -[k]) finally in disyllabic stems: > ''g'' > ''γ'' > ∅
|пулӑ (pulă) : Turkish ''balık'' 'fish', 
ĕне (ĕne) : Turkish ''inek'' 'cow'
|-
|*-''g'' > *-''w'' > -''v'', -''∅'' (also via [[monophthongisation]])
|ту (tu) : Turkish ''dağ'' 'mountain', тив (tiv) : Turkish ''değ'' 'touch', 
вӗрен (vĕren) : Turkish ''öğren'' 'learn',

аллӑ (allă) : Turkish ''elli'' (< Proto-Turkic *''ellig, ellüg'')
|-
|*''s'' > ''š'' occasionally (due to a following *''y''?)
|шыв (šyv'')'' : Old Turkic ''sub'', Turkish ''su'' 'water'
|-
|*''b-'' > ''p-''
|пӗр (pĕr) : Turkish ''bir'' 'one'
|-
|*-''b'' > *-''w'' > -''v''
|шыв (šyv) : Old Turkic ''sub'', Turkish ''su'' 'water'
|-
|*''t'' in palatal environments > ''č''
|чӗр (çĕr) : Turkish ''diz'' 'knee'
|-
|[[diphthongisation]] of long vowels producing /yV/ and /vV/ sequences (but not in all relevant lexemes); e.g.:
<nowiki>*</nowiki>''ā'' > ''ja''

<nowiki>*</nowiki>''ō'' > *''wo'' > ''vu''

<nowiki>*</nowiki>''ȫ'', ''ǖ'' > *''üwä'' > ''ăva''
|ят (jat) : Turkmen a''t'', Turkish ''ad'' 'name' (< Proto-Turkic *''āt'')
вут (vut) : Turkmen o''t'', Turkish ''od'' 'fire' (< Proto-Turkic *''ōt'')

тӑват (tăvat): Turkish ''dört'' (< Proto-Turkic ''*tȫrt'')
|-
|reduction and centralisation of high vowels: 
<nowiki>*</nowiki>''u'' > ''ă'';

<nowiki>*</nowiki>''ï'' > ''ă'' or ''ĕ''

<nowiki>*</nowiki>''i'', *''ü'' > ''ĕ''
|тӑр (tăr) : Turkish ''dur'' 'stand'
хӗр (hĕr) : Turkish ''kız'' 'girl'

пӗр (pĕr) : Turkish ''bir'' 'one', кӗл (kĕl): Turkish ''kül'' 'ash'
|-
|*''a'' > *''å'' > ''o'' > ''u'' (the latter only in the Anatri dialect, on which the standard is based);
but also (the determining circumstances are unclear):

<nowiki>*</nowiki>''a'' > ''ï''
|ут (ut) : Turkish ''at'' 'horse'

ҫыр (şyr) : Turkish ''yaz'' 'write'
|-
|raising of most other low vowels: *''ẹ'' > ''i'', *''o'' > ''u'', *''ö'' > ''ü''
|кил (kil) : Turkish ''gel'' 'come', утӑ (utӑ) : Turkish ''ot'' 'grass'
|-
|*''e'' (i.e. *''ä'') > ''a''
|кас (kas) : Turkish ''kes'' 'cut'
|-
|Allophonic rules: voicing between voiced segments,
palatalisation of consonants in palatal environments,

leftward stress retraction from reduced vowels
|See ''Phonology'' section.
|}

Most of the (non-allophonic) consonant changes listed in the table above are thought to date from the period before the [[Bulgars]] migrated to the [[Volga]] region in the 10th century; some notable exceptions are the ''č'' > ''ś'' shift and the final stage of the ''-d'' > ''-ð'' > ''-z'' > ''-r'' shift, which date from the following, Volga Bulgar period (between the 10th-century migration and the Mongol invasions of the 13th century). The vowel changes mostly occurred later, mainly during the Middle Chuvash period (between the invasions and the 17th century), except for the diphthongisation, which took place during the Volga Bulgar period. Many sound changes known from Chuvash can be observed in Turkic loanwords into Hungarian (from the pre-migration period) and in Volga Bulgar epitaphs or loanwords into languages of the Volga region (from the Volga Bulgar period). Nevertheless, these sources also indicate that there was significant dialectal variation within the Oguric-speaking population during both of these periods.<ref name="Agyagási 2019: passim"/>

=== Comparison ===
In the 8-10th centuries in Central Asia, the ancient Turkic script (the [[Orkhon-Yenisei script|Orkhon-Yenisei runic script]]) was used for writing in Turkic languages. Turkic epitaphs of 7-9th centuries AD were left by speakers of various dialects (table):

* Often in the Chuvash language, the Common Turkic sounds of '''/j/''' (''Oghuz''), '''/d/''' (''Karluk''), '''/z/''' (''Kipchak'') are replaced by '''/r/''', example ''[[rhotacism]]'':

Words for "leg" and "put" in various Turkic languages:

j - languages (Oguz): ''ayaq, qoy-''

d - languages (Karluk): ''adaq, qod-''

z - languages (Kypchak): ''azaq, qoz-''

r - languages (Oghur): ''ura, hur- ([[Dialectic|dial.]] ora, hor-)''<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Егоров (Egorov) |first=Василий Георгиевич |url=https://altaica.ru/LIBRARY/chuvash.pdf |title=Чăваш чĕлхин этимологи словарĕ. |publisher=Чувашское книжное издательство |year=1964 |location=Cheboksary |language=ru |trans-title=Этимологический словарь чувашского языка }}</ref>

* Often in the Chuvash language, the Turkic sound '''/q/''' is replaced by '''/x/''', example ''hitaism'':

'''Comparison table'''<ref name=":3" />

Сhitacism (Q > H)
{| class="wikitable"
! English word !! Oghuz / Kipchak !! Chuvash (Up.)
!Chuvash (Low.)
|-
| black || qara ||  hura
|hora
|-
| goose || qaz ||  hur
|hor
|-
| girl ||  qız ||  hĕr
|hĕr
|-
| zucchini || qabaq ||  hupah
|hopah
|}

* The '''-h-''' sound disappears if it is the final sound of a syllable.

''Dudaq - Tuta - Lips'' instead of ''Tutah''

''Ayaq - Ura - Leg'' instead of ''Urah''

''Balıq - Pulă - Fish'' instead of ''Pulăh''

''İnek'' - ''Ĕne - Cow''  instead of ''Ĕneh''<ref name=":3" />

* Turkic sound '''-y-'''  (''oguz'') and '''-j-''' (''kipchaks'')  is replaced by chuvash '''-''ş''-''', example:

Words in Turkic languages: ''egg, snake, rain, house, earth''

Oguz: ''yumurta, yılan, yağmur, yurt, yer (''turk., azerb.'')''

Kipchaks: ''jumırtqa, jılan, jañğır, jurt, jer (''kyrgyz., kazakh.'')''

Chuvash: ''şămarta, şĕlen, şămăr, şurt, şĕr''<ref name=":3" />

* The Turkic sound '''-ş-''' is replaced by the Chuvash '''-L-''', example ''lambdaism'':

'''Comparison table'''<ref name=":3" />
{| class="wikitable"
! English word !! Oghuz / Kipchak !! Chuvash
|-
| winter || qıš  || hĕl
|-
| silver || kümüş ||  kӗmӗl
|-
| sun || quyaş/güŋeş || hĕvel
|}

* In the field of vowels, we observe the following correspondences: the common Turkic '''-a-''' in the first syllable of the word in Chuvash correspond to '''-u-''' and '''-o-.'''

'''Comparison table'''<ref name=":3" />
{| class="wikitable"
! English word !! Oguz / Kipchak !! Chuvash (Up.)
!Chuvash (Low.)
|-
| horse || at || ut 
|ot
|-
| coin || aqça || ukşa
|okşa
|-
| head || baš ||  puş
|poş
|-
| step || adım || utăm 
|otăm
|}

In modern times, in Chuvash [a] remains, Tatar "kapka" ~ Chuvash "hapha" (gate), when there should be a "''hupha''" from the root "''hup - close''".

* In the field of vowels, G. F. Miller observes another example when '''-u-''' is replaced by '''-wu-''' or '''-wă-'''

'''Comparison table'''<ref name=":3" />
{| class="wikitable"
! English word !! Oguz !! Chuvash (Upper) || Kipchak !! Chuvash (Lower)
|-
| fire || ut ||   wut ||  ot  || wot
|-
| ten || un  || wun ||   on  || won
|-
| forest || urman ||  wărman ||  orman || wărman 
|-
| Russian || urus  ||  wırăs ||  orus  || wırăs
|-
| he || ul || wăl ||  ol ||   wăl 
|-
| thirty || utyz ||  wătăr ||   otyz  || wătăr
|}

* The fricative '''-g-''' in some words in Chuvash corresponds to '''-v-'''

'''Comparison table'''<ref name=":3" />
{| class="wikitable"
! English word !! Oghuz !! Chuvash
|-
| native || doğan || tăvan
|-
|tree
|ağaç
|jıvăş
|-
| mountain || dağ || tuv
|}
'''Ogur and Oguz'''

It is well known that the ''[[Oghuz Turks|Oghuz]]'' group of Turkic languages differs from the ''[[Kipchaks|Kipchak]]'' in that the word “I” was pronounced by the [[Oghuz Turks|Oghuz''es'']] and [[Ogurs|Oghurs]] in ancient times by "''bä(n)"'', and the rest of the Turks - by "''män".'' There is such a difference in the modern Turkic languages of the Volga region:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Volga Tatar
!Chuvash
!Oghuz
!Translation
!Notes
|-
|{{Lang|tt|min}}
|эпӗ(н)
|ben
|I, me
|
|-
|{{Lang|tt|meñ}}
|пин
|biŋ
|thousand
|
|-
|{{Lang|tt|miləş}}
|пилеш
|
|[[rowan]]
|
|-
|{{Lang|tt|məçe}}
|пӗҫи, пиҫук
|pişik
|cat
|
|-
|{{Lang|tt|miçəw}}
|пичев
|
|buckle
|
|}
tat., bash. ''Min'', ogur/chuv. ''Epĕn'' (< *pen), turk. ''Ben'', eng. «''I am''»;

tat., bash. ''Mең'', ogur/chuv. ''Piń,'' turk. ''Bin,'' eng. «thousand»;

tat., bash. Milәş, ogur/chuv. Pileš, eng. «rowan»;

tat. ''Мәçe'', ogur/chuv. ''Pĕşi, Pĕşuk,'' az. ''Pişik,'' eng. «cat»;

{{Langx|ba|Мисәү|Misəw}}, {{Langx|cv|Пичев|Piçev|buckle}}