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How do the Chuvash words for “hundred” and “age” differ from their Turkish counterparts?
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The Chuvash language represents the Bolgar Turkic branch of the Turkic languages, which split early from the Common Turkic languages. This divergence is characterized by regular phonetic differences, specifically the correspondence of r in Chuvash to z in Common Turkic, and l in Chuvash to š in Common Turkic.1
These phonetic shifts are evident in the following comparisons:
- Hundred: The Chuvash word is śer, whereas the Turkish counterpart is yüz.1
- Age: The Chuvash word is śul, whereas the Turkish counterpart is yaš.1
Because of these distinct phonetic developments and other archaic features, Chuvash is not mutually intelligible with other modern Turkic languages.21