Xioun

  As Xioun developed from Middle Then, the stop initials underwent a chain shift, similar to the one underwent in the Salic languages: the voiced stops devoiced, the devoiced stops aspirated, and the aspirated stops assibilated (d > t > tʰ > θ). This shift is what resulted in the Tira Vellans, whose first contact with Thenic speakers was the Xioun, rendering the name of Then with the letter theta, representing the voiceless dental fricative (/θ/) the Xioun would have used to pronounce “天”, as opposed to the Then themselves, who would have used an aspirated stop (/tʰ/).