Talk:X

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)

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

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)
 * (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)

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


 * 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)
 * It's another two and a half years later, but yes, absolutely. Double sharp (talk) 09:05, 25 January 2018 (UTC)
 * Its 6 years later and they just named Twitter the haunt of every unclean bird X
 * The Pharisees Pharmacy just named a terrible plague X
 * I think the world is in trouble. 2603:6080:D000:45C6:3403:7316:F4B0:4D2 (talk) 00:54, 22 February 2024 (UTC)

Lao X
--Pawyilee (talk) 09:52, 17 November 2011 (UTC)
 * 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
 * See Romanization of Lao Initial position BGN/PCGN --Pawyilee (talk) 14:25, 12 February 2012 (UTC)

'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)

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)

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)

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

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

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

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  Dr Strauss   talk   13:58, 10 September 2017 (UTC)

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)


 * 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. ©   Tb hotch ™ (en-2.5). 20:25, 3 September 2017 (UTC)
 * 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)
 * 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 . ©   Tb hotch ™ (en-2.5). 03:25, 4 September 2017 (UTC)
 * 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)
 * Oppose move. The Roman numeral usage of X is not common enough.  ONR  (talk) 10:41, 4 September 2017 (UTC)
 * 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)


 * 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.

1.144.111.48 (talk) 01:24, 17 April 2019 (UTC)

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. &mdash; MaxEnt 17:43, 18 October 2018 (UTC)


 * 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. &mdash; MaxEnt 17:56, 18 October 2018 (UTC)


 * "In biology, the multiplication sign is used in a botanical hybrid name, for instance Ceanothus papillosus × impressus (a hybrid between C. papillosus and C. impressus) "
 * —DIV (1.144.111.48 (talk) 01:24, 17 April 2019 (UTC))

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 NOX or NOX (although I prefer & recommend a subscripted lowercase-italic "x" in this specific context, NOx).  —DIV (1.144.111.48 (talk) 01:20, 17 April 2019 (UTC))

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))

〷 listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has asked for a discussion to address the redirect 〷. Please participate in the redirect discussion if you wish to do so. signed,Rosguill talk 17:44, 7 July 2019 (UTC)

"Pronunciation of X" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has asked for a discussion to address the redirect Pronunciation of X. Please participate in the redirect discussion if you wish to do so. 1234qwer1234qwer4 (talk) 23:29, 8 March 2020 (UTC)

Incomprehensible
FTA: Three exceptions are pronounced [s]: six ("six"), dix ("ten") and in some city names such as Bruxelles (although some people pronounce it 'ks') or Auxerre; it is fully pronounced [ks] in Aix, the name of several towns. 92.67.227.181 (talk) 17:51, 16 July 2022 (UTC)

Unreferenced article
Only sixteen references for such a long article, stating so many short facts? That makes the article almost entirely unreferenced. 92.67.227.181 (talk) 17:52, 16 July 2022 (UTC)

Issues with the History section
So I have noticed that the History section had no references, so I was looking to improve it. However, the articles I have found contain different info than what is in this article. Either that, or not enough info is provided. I think it might be best to just completely redo the History section, but I want to see what other users believe. Here's two sources I found. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ulysses Grant Official (talk • contribs) 22:52, 6 October 2022 (UTC)

Phonetic usage [Ø]
The phone appears in the infobox but no language with this usage is cited in the main text. Does such a language actually exist? Weirdly in the infobox it's the only phonetic value (wrongly) capitalized and only one not linked to its phonetic WP page. — maiku (talk) 18:20, 29 November 2022 (UTC)


 * I think I figured out what's going on. I think "[Ø]" means silent, which is the word used in the main text for one French usage.  I edited the infobox to make the thing consistent.  But if you want to use the empty-set symbol for zero, then I suggest you use the proper symbol and not capital O with slash. —maiku (talk) 01:10, 30 November 2022 (UTC)

Xi vs Phi in History section.
In the history section, it talks about how Chi and Psi were variants of the same letter. But that is a mistake, and should be Chi and Xi. 2601:646:C101:2840:274D:6174:B357:DAE8 (talk) 16:40, 7 May 2023 (UTC)

For the love of God, maintain the letter X as the main redirection for when someone searches for 'X'
This is still early, but I just want to say this just in case. All the letters, from A to Z redirect to their letter page, we must maintain consistency. One of the things that annoys me the most is people appropriating basic words, shapes or things into their agenda. ElskverdigHug (talk) 05:12, 25 July 2023 (UTC)

Ξ/ξ (Xsi) stands phonetically for X in classical and modern Greek. Etruscan and Latin borrowing of X from Χ/χ (Khi/Chi) could have occurred from pre Hellenic localized dialects
The Wikipedia entry for Xsi acknowledges it as the phonetic Greek counterpart to the Roman Letter X inasmuch as it symbolizes the "ks" phonetic particle which is what X in English sounds like.

The status as a recognized form of Greek of ancient pre hellenic localized dialects from which the etruscans borrowed "X" is not clarified from sources in the article, thus it is not conclusive that the counterpart of X in Greek is Khi(χ).

Very evidently there was no Letter Ξ(ξ) in those dialects thus Χ(Khi) (dialectal) is indeed the root of X. However the counter part in established Greek is indeed Ξ(ξ).

Therefore, sources for the development of the letter X from localized (pre) Hellenic dialects have to be introduced. And the mention of Ξ(ξ) as the official Greek language counterpart has to be placed as well. Ctmv (talk) 17:12, 7 August 2023 (UTC)


 * Perhaps something from Archaic Greek alphabets could be usefully added here. —Tamfang (talk) 02:03, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

gz in Polish
It was never  /gz/, article doesn't even provide an example. Since the article is protected, I can't edit it. So please, either show at least 1 example (both in table and sub topic 1.2. "Other languages") or remove mention of  /gz/ in Polish.

31.182.226.214 (talk) 13:00, 10 August 2023 (UTC)

Should this list the social network as a possible meaning?
If someone is searching for X on Wikipedia, they're likely looking for the social network, formerly called Twitter (and still titled that on WP). Maybe we should change the first line to, so users looking for the social network don't have to go through a disambiguation page? 206.204.236.63 (talk) 15:01, 26 August 2023 (UTC)


 * I think people searching for X are unlikely to be looking for Twitter; they'd just look up "Twitter" instead. From my anecdotal experience, it feels like most people still refer to Twitter as Twitter, and news sites generally say something along the lines of "X (formerly Twitter)" SheepTester (talk) 01:02, 11 December 2023 (UTC)

Speculated Origins?
It claims an Egyptian Hieroglyph (Possibly Djed) is the speculated origin of the letter, but I cannot find a single source corroborating this fact, it is barely mentioned in the article, is this just an info box to article inconsistency or am I reading this wrong? Much thanks for any response. Goodbyecomputer (talk) 04:17, 14 December 2023 (UTC)

Hatnote to Twitter
Should the hatnote here link to Twitter?

My impression is that it shouldn't; Twitter, when referenced as X, isn't so dominant a topic compared to the other items on the disambiguation list that it warrants direct inclusion in the hatenote. BilledMammal (talk) 20:48, 15 January 2024 (UTC)
 * I think a lot of people come here just to see if this article is about the social network, or if it links to it etc. Whether or not that's a good enough reason to include it is arguable Snowmanonahoe (talk · contribs · typos) 17:23, 3 February 2024 (UTC)

Edit request
Delink the phrase Its name in English to Its name in English in the last sentence to maintain consistency like 25 letters else. 2001:EE0:4BE2:4ED0:9496:F804:F0D4:C864 (talk) 01:22, 19 February 2024 (UTC) — Urro[ talk ] [ edits ] ⋮ 12:31, 19 February 2024 (UTC) — Urro[ talk ] [ edits ] ⋮ 12:40, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Hi @Urropean, while this news may dissuade you to go, I am regrettably sorry and worried that some of your contributions, here to X, the content of the article may, or ever to be, vandalized in part. Please notice carefully and make your change consciously. I look the page so not seamlessly, thus I suggest you to fix the code error and implement it. 2001:EE0:4BCC:A880:9496:F804:F0D4:C864 (talk) 03:13, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Hi again! I assume you are referring to my failure to remove the link properly, considering that is the only edit I made to the page. I've since fixed it! Thanks for letting me know.