Chuvash language

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Chuvash language (pronounced /ˈʧu.vaʃ/) (Чӑваш чӗлхи, also known as Chuwash, Chovash, Chavash or Çuaş) is a Turkic language spoken west of the Urals in central Russia. Chuvash is the native language of the Chuvash people and an official language of Chuvashia. It is spoken by about two million people.

The Chuvash alphabet uses the Cyrillic script, comprising all letters used in Russian plus four extra letters: Ӑ ӑ, Ӗ ӗ, Ҫҫ, Ӳ ӳ.

History

Chuvash is the most divergent of all the Turkic languages and uniquely lacks intelligibility with others. Its parent language — spoken by the Volga Bulghars in the Middle Ages — differs from all the other Turkic languages so considerably that it is usually classified as a sister language to the Proto-Turkic, rather than a daughter language, as all the other Turkic languages are.

"Formerly, scholars considered Chuvash not properly a Turkic language at all but, rather, the only surviving representative of a separate subdivision of the Altaic languages probably spoken by the Huns" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1997).

Modern Chuvash alphabet

А Б В Г Д Е Ё Ж З И Й К Л М Н О П Р С Т У Ф Х Ц Ч Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь Э Ю Я
а б в г д е ё ж з и й к л м н о п р с т у ф х ц ч ш щ ъ ы ь э ю я

There are two dialects of Chuvash: Viryal or Upper (pronouncing an o, as in хола = town) and Anatri or Lower (pronouncing a u, as in хула = town). The literary language is based on the Lower dialect. Both Tatar and Finnic languages have influenced the Chuvash language, and there are Russian, Mari, Mongolic, Arab and Persian words in its lexicon.

The most ancient writing system was the Orkhon script, which disappeared after the Volga Bulgars converted to Islam. Later, Arabic was used. After the Mongol invasion, writing disappeared. The modern alphabet was created in 1873 by I. Ya. Yakovlev. In 1938, the alphabet underwent a significant modification to its current form.

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Chuvash language

History

Modern Chuvash alphabet

See also