Talk:X

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Codes for computing

I find this section to be largely superfluous: EBCDIC is a thing of the past, and all other codes are derived from ASCII: Unicode adopted ASCII 32-126 which include capital and small 'x', as did HTML/XML. So I'd propose to remove this section (haven't checked other similar articles to see if they include something like this). Jalwikip (talk) 16:43, 12 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

the letter x goes Ks Ks Ks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.206.5.85 (talk) 19:52, 5 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Greek sound

Did the Greeks actually use it to sound like 'ks', and then begin words with it? I realize these are the same people who regularly began words with 'pt' (as did the Egyptians) and.. well, anglophones used to regularly begin words with 'kn' but.. I understood that the greek X was always pronounced K, as in the word for Christ, and that Xylos (wood) ought to be pronounced kylos in english, and by extension kylem and kylophone.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.73.70.113 (talk) 02:01, 15 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

(Yes it's a year later, but just for reference -) There are two different Greek letters you're thinking of here. One is chi; it looks like X and has the pronunciation you have in mind; the other is xi, which is transliterated as X but in Greek looks like Ξ -- this is the one pronounced 'ks' (which was and is indeed used to start words). 'Christos' uses chi, and 'xylos' and the others use xi. --Muke Tever talk 15:22, 5 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Surely we should include xi (pronounced "ksi") in the "related letters" section? 162.204.192.221 (talk) 20:34, 11 November 2013 (UTC)Spencer Hixon[reply]

Hey it's four years later now, but I still appreciate your answer. So rather than being pronounced kylem, xylem was pronounced ksylem? I just need to get my pretentious lingo right. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.22.31.84 (talk) 05:39, 31 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

It's another two and a half years later, but yes, absolutely. Double sharp (talk) 09:05, 25 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Lao X

Kingdom

Lan Xang (Lan Sang, Lane Sang)

Provinces of Laos

Bolikhamxai (Bolikhamsai, Borlikumsai)
Oudomxai (Oudomxay)
Sainyabuli (Xaignabouli, Saiyabouly)
Sekong (Xekong)
Xaisomboun
Xiangkhoang (Xieng Khouang, Siangkuang)
Xieng Dong Xieng Thong and outpost Xay Fong

--Pawyilee (talk) 09:52, 17 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

See Romanization of Lao#Consonants Initial position BGN/PCGN --Pawyilee (talk) 14:25, 12 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

'sh' sound in Old Spanish

Old Spanish had the 'sh' sound. See: http://roa.rutgers.edu/files/634-1103/634-BRADLEY-0-0.PDF Modern Spanish has the softer version of this sound, like 'ich'. The TED talk mentioned in some of the revisions of this page is completely wrong. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.181.114.194 (talk) 14:32, 13 June 2012 (UTC)[reply]

More references, these from Wikipedia: Old_Spanish, History_of_Spanish, Don_Quixote (See Spelling and Pronunciation). The scholarly references in these pages, especially in the History of Spanish page, provide further details about the evolution of Spanish. The statement that the 'sh' sound is hard to pronounce in the Iberia Peninsula is absurd for anyone speaking Spanish or Portuguese. The statement that it was hard pronounce then is absurd for those who are familiar with Iberian Medieval works -- they are full of words containing some version of that sound. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.181.114.194 (talk) 14:58, 13 June 2012 (UTC)[reply]

One last reference, this one from contemporary scholars in Portugal and Galicia: The Galician-Portuguese Cancioneiro, scanned and transcribed. These are some of the oldest written literary works in the Iberian Peninsula, pertaining to 150 years between the 12th and 14th centuries, so about the same time when the Arabic works were being translated. Some of the songs have musical renditions, so you can both see the original scans that used the letter χ and you can hear how those words sound. Here is one of the songs, Ũa pastor se queixava. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.181.114.194 (talk) 16:41, 13 June 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Maltese X

According to [1], Maltese X is also pronounced [ʒ] before voiced consonants (as an allophone of /ʃ/)? Burzuchius (talk) 08:03, 19 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Pronunciation in English

Two points: First, is a [citation needed] really needed after the note about 'xu' being pronounced as /kš/ and /gž/. Any native speaker with a knowledge of Phonology can attest to this.

Second, with so much detail given about word-medial and -final pronunciation, why not also mention the general /z/ sound used in word initial positions (Xylophone, xeriscaping, etc.) and at least one exception that comes to mind...Xavier?

Also, (so, a third point) maybe mention of 'x' as an early orthographic option to replace the English digraph "sh" /š/? 50.248.57.235 (talk) 17:01, 19 October 2014 (UTC)Tom in South Florida[reply]

Occitan

Is it worth pointing out that in Occitan that <x> is often pronounced /ts/? 2600:8803:7D89:8000:2C2B:9F5E:719E:67D (talk) 19:20, 31 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Requested move 3 September 2017

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: not moved DrStrauss talk 13:58, 10 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

X → X (letter) – Unique among the 26 letters, X has 2 primary meanings, the letter and a symbol for the number 10. Georgia guy (talk) 18:35, 3 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Oppose, other letters haver other uses as well. I had to go way down to X (disambiguation) just to find it only says at Mathematics "10 (number) (Roman numeral: X)", so I don't see how the letter itself is not the primary topic. Also, this article already covers this at X#Other uses. © Tbhotch^™ (en-2.5). 20:25, 3 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Comment. OS X is in fact properly pronounced OS 10, as is the upcoming iPhone X. X must be a common representation for the number 10 these days, so there must be 2 meanings of X that are just like lead meaning to lead a line and lead the chemical element. Both meanings are common. Georgia guy (talk) 21:07, 3 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]
So is I, V, L C, D and M (I and V are more common than the rest). I found this RM weird, especially because all the latin alphabet is the primary topic. The symbol "X" (named "ex" in English) is the primary topic for the symbol X. Any other value or meaning added to that symbol, in this case "ten", is just that, an additional meaning . © Tbhotch^™ (en-2.5). 03:25, 4 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose this good faith nomination per consistency of the names of pages on letters of the latin alphabet and other above comments. Randy Kryn (talk) 04:33, 4 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose move. The Roman numeral usage of X is not common enough. ONR (talk) 10:41, 4 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose. The letter is the primary topic, and there's a strong consistency argument too. I'm confused by the claim that X is "unique among the 26 letters" by being both a letter and a Roman numeral—what about I, V, L, C, D, and M? I think the Roman numeral I is at least as common as X, and V might be too. —Granger (talk · contribs) 11:32, 4 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

Paella x conundrum

One of the Spanish rice varietals used for paella is frequently designated as "Balilla x Sollana", or sometimes "Balilla X Sollana".

In Spanish text culture, "x" often takes the place of "por". So I tried this, and sure enough, I could find many instances of "Balilla por Sollana" on the tubes.

What didn't bring me joy was "Spanish" "x" "explained" outside of phone culture (nor, disappointingly, here, either).

Perhaps it could be added. — MaxEnt 17:43, 18 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Resolved the puzzle myself, after unleashing Google translate on ca.Wikipedia (Basque, apparently). I had already read that there is a second meaning of "por" (entirely different word) which means "multiplied by". Turns out Balilla X Sollana are two varietals, cross bred, and Sollana is not actually the Sollana municipality (a location), but a rice varietal associated with Sollana. I think in English we might write Balilla–Sollana with the ndash to give equal weight to both sides, in some implied relationship that's left entirely unspecified. We might also use the special symbol × in some contexts, though I've never seen that used on a retail package. — MaxEnt 17:56, 18 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Halogens

X is the symbol for halogens. Porygon-Z 18:23, 19 December 2018 (UTC)

That is not true. "X" is a common symbol for an unknown/unspecified variable, and therefore it can stand for an unspecified halogen, but also can be used to stand for many other unspecified chemical species, or indeed unknown/unspecified numbers in chemical formulæ, such as NO_X or NOX (although I prefer & recommend a subscripted lowercase-italic "x" in this specific context, NO_x). —DIV (1.144.111.48 (talk) 01:20, 17 April 2019 (UTC))[reply]

Handwriting animation

What's up with the handwriting animation? I don't know anyone who writes a lowercase "x" like that. Please clarify what style it is attempting to reproduce, and/or amend the animation. —DIV (1.144.111.48 (talk) 01:15, 17 April 2019 (UTC))[reply]