Jao language

The Jao language, as the name suggests is the ethnic language of the Jao. It broke off from Early Old Shár.

Evolution from Old Shár
The Jao language evolved from Early Old Shár. It kept all of its eight vowels intact, but featured vast simplifications in every other respect:
 * Initials:
 * The rhotacized clusters simplified into retroflex stops.
 * The alveolar affricates, palatal affricates and the rhotacized affricates  merge as palatoalveolar affricates.
 * merges into.
 * and coalesce as.
 * Tonogenesis: the original finals evolve into tones.
 * Finals:
 * The coda stops merge as.
 * The coda nasals merge as  (nasalization of the previous vowel).

Initials

 * The fortis stops are heavily aspirated.
 * The tenuis stops are actually slightly aspirated (presumably to help to keep them distinct from the corresponding voiced stops), with the exception of, which is completely unaspirated, presumably due to the lack of a corresponding voiced stop to be kept distinct from.
 * The lenis (voiced) stops may be breathy voiced, depending on speaker preference.

Finals

 * The pseudo-consonants assimilate to following syllables, if they begin with consonants.
 * are pronounced as instead of
 * are pronounced as instead of
 * are pronounced as instead of
 * are pronounced as instead of
 * are pronounced as instead of
 * are pronounced as instead of
 * are pronounced as instead of
 * are pronounced as instead of
 * are pronounced as instead of
 * are pronounced as instead of