Proto-West Altaic'

Changes from Proto-Altaic' to Late Proto-West Altaic':

• /s ʂ/ → [ts tʂ] and /ɽ/ → [ɖ] when initial or prenasal
  • after which /N/ drops here, phonemicizing 'em
    • after which /ts/ → /θ/
• Conditional lenition of dorsal stops (before a certain subset of vowels maybe?) to fricativs
  • after which: /x xʷ Nx Nxʷ χ χʷ Nχ Nχʷ/ → /h f ŋh ŋʷh ħ fˤ ŋħ ŋʷħ/
• Retroflexes acquire velarization
  • after which → velars before front vowels, emphatics elsewhere (except [ɽˠ] → /g/ consistently)
• POA chain shift
  • 1a) /p f/ → /t̻ θ/
  • 1b) /j/ → /ɟ/ → /d̻/
  • 2a) /t tʂ s n/ → /ṯ ṯ s̱ ṉ/, obstruents = [ʧ ʃ] before front vowels
  • 2b) /kʷ ŋʷ qʷ/ → /p m pˤ/
  • 2c) /q/ → /ʔ/
  • 3) /θ/ → /s̻/

(These should be laminality signs (subsc. square), not dentality signs (subsc. bridge).)