Old Xiang dialect

generate a one-sentence description for a given conceptual class.
# Response Format
Return only the sentence: "Description: [one-sentence description of the conceptional class]"

Class: Old Xiang dialect

Old Xiang dialect is a conservative branch of the Xiang group of Chinese dialects, primarily spoken in central Hunan province, that preserves many archaic phonological and lexical features lost in other modern Chinese varieties.