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Why are Chuvash and Khalaj so different from most Turkic languages?

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Chuvash and Khalaj are distinct from most other Turkic languages because they represent separate branches that diverged early in the history of the Turkic languages, exhibiting a unique combination of archaic features and innovations.12

Chuvash
Chuvash is the sole modern descendant of the extinct Volga-Bolgarian language. It is classified as Bolgar Turkic, which split from Common Turkic in the early stages of the language family's history. This divergence is marked by regular phonetic differences, such as the use of r and l in Chuvash where Common Turkic languages use z and š (e.g., Chuvash śer versus Turkish yüz for "hundred"). Due to these fundamental differences, Chuvash lacks mutual intelligibility with other Turkic languages.32

Khalaj
While Khalaj is part of the Common Turkic group, it is considered a separate branch descended from the Old Turkic Arghu dialect. It is notable for preserving a greater number of archaic features than any other modern Common Turkic language.12