The Kipchak languages share a number of features that have led linguists to classify them together. Some of these features are shared with other
Common Turkic languages; others are unique to the Kipchak family.
Shared features • Change of Proto-Turkic *d to (e.g. *
hadaq >
ajaq "foot") • Loss of initial *h, see above example
Unique features Family-specific • Frequent
fortition (in the form of
assibilation) of initial (e.g.
*etti >
etti "seven") •
Diphthongs from syllable-final and (e.g. *
taɡ >
taw "mountain", *
sub >
suw "water")
Language-specific • In both
Tatar and
Bashkir, the original mid and high vowels are swapped in position by vowel raising and lowering: ==Classification==