Chuvash language
Spoken in
- Altaic languages ( disputed) Turkic languages Oghurische languages Chuvash
Cv
Chv
The Chuvash language ( Chuvash Чӑваш чӗлхи / Čǎvaš čĕlchi, Чӑвашла / Čǎvašla ) is a so-called " Bolgartürkische language " from the branch of Oghurischen languages in the Turkic languages . Today, it is attributed to the Western branch of the Turkic languages and takes within this a special place. It is next to Russian official language in the autonomous Russian republic of Chuvashia.
Main distribution area
Chuvash is spoken mainly in Chuvashia, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. There are also smaller language cluster along the Volga to Saratov. Furthermore, Chuvash minorities in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, the Baltic States and Uzbekistan, where they were settled during the Soviet Union and settled life. In the Russian census of 1999 gave 1.64 million or 82 % of the Chuvash Chuvash as a mother tongue. Overall, 1.8 million people speak Tsonga.
Classification options
Chuvash is classified differently. So lists the " Fischer Lexicon languages " (1987), the Chuvash as follows:
- Turkic languages western branch Bulgarian group Chuvash
In contrast, leads to " Metzler Lexikon Sprache " (1993):
- Turkic languages Southwest Turkish ( Oghusisch )
- Osttürkisch ( Karlukisch )
- West Turkish ( Kiptschakisch )
- Northern Turkish
- Northeast Turkish
- Bolgartürkisch Chuvash
The actual classification can be found in the article Turkic languages .
Dialects and alphabets
In Chuvash today two major dialect groups are distinguished:
- Anatri (low - Chuvash ) and
- Viryal (upper - Chuvash )
The Chuvash language is now widely regarded as linguistic heritage of the old Volga Bulgars. The Volga Bulgars invaded by the end of the 10th century before the Volga - Kama region, where they founded an independent dominion. To this territory belonged to numerous ethnic groups that were later partially assimilated, resulting in today's Chuvash stood out from the other Turkic languages . Especially the Chuvash was influenced by the Finno-Ugric languages.
In the 13th century, the Chuvash were part of the Mongol- dominated Khanate of the Golden Horde, and after his defeat in 1502 to the Tatar Khanate of Kazan.
1551, the Chuvash voluntarily assumed the sovereignty of the Russian Tsar.
The Chuvash written in different alphabets. When they came around the year 1000 in the Volga region, they used a variant of the Turkish Orkhon alphabet. After the takeover of Islam, the Arabic alphabet was introduced with them. In the 18th century, the Chuvash came to the Orthodox Christian faith over and took the end of the 19th century, the Cyrillic alphabet to. With the creation of an independent literary language, which was developed in 1878 by Russian missionaries, Cyril also a modified alphabet was created. The Chuvash written language has been reformed several times.
Beginning of 1926 attended also by representatives of the Chuvash Turkish studies at the Congress in Baku. In this Congress was advised to create for all Turks and Turko - Tatars a common font, the unitary Turkish alphabet. But this never caught on with the speakers of the Chuvash. The Chuvash waived the only turksprachiges people within the USSR to the acquisition of the proposed Latin alphabet and continued to write in Cyrillic.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union a modern Latin alphabet was developed for the Chuvash. However, in practice this Latin alphabet is not applied.
Comparison of the Chuvash Cyril and Latin alphabet
- Cyrillic ( officially used ): Аа Ӑӑ Бб Вв Гг Дд Ее Ёё Ӗӗ Жж Зз Ии Йй Кк Лл Мм Нн Оо Пп Рр Сс Ҫҫ Тт Уу Ӳӳ Фф Х х Цц Чч Шш Щщ Ъъ Ыы Ьь Ээ Юю Яя
- Latin (not used): Bb Cc Dd Ee aa aa ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Rr Ss ss / cc Tt Uu Üü / Vv Yy Zz Ÿÿ yes ju sh / zh š / ž
Known Chuvash
One of the most representative of his people is in Moscow on 21 February 2006 deceased poet and translator Gennadi Ajgi, born in 1934 in Chuvashia; his last name " Ajgi " in the Chuvash simply: " The ( jenige ) there."