Any word that contains this so-called "letter" could be spelled instead with a "Z" or "CKS".
See for yourself!
Xylophone = Zylophone
Sex = Secks
Exam = Ecksam
While I understand that the ecksitance of this "letter" saves us about .0024 seconds per day, I would venture to say by the year 2075, no one would even remember it ecksisted. You'd be sitting on the porch reading through your old yearbook and you'd read some perp's comment about "Hope you have an exciting summer!" and you'd be like, "what the HELL......the letter X! I'm SO GLAD they got rid of that dang letter."
I challenge any one of you...if you can come up with a word that ABSOLUTELY cannot survive without this "letter" X, I will let you be the Mayor of an up-and-coming town, Bosler WY (more on that venture later).
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| Thank GOODNESS! (http://society6.com/brianwjones | ) |
The letter X is a remnant of the Greek alphabet from which our alphabet originates.
ReplyDeleteLike many letters in the English language, such as “C” and “J,” X is a bit of a phonetic chameleon. For instance, /x/ is used to establish the /ks/ sound, as in wax and fox. The same rule applies for x’s /gz/ sound, as in “auxiliary” and “exhaust.” X can also take on the /z/ sound as in “xylophone” and “Xanadu”, the hard /k/ sound as in “excite”, and /kzh/ as in “luxury”. The /x/ can also be silent as in “Sioux (Falls)”, and the French loan-word “faux”.
In mathematics, x is commonly used as the name for an independent variable or unknown value dating back to the 15th century.
It may also be used to signify the multiplication operation when a more appropriate symbol is unavailable. In mathematics, an "italicized x" ( ) is often used to avoid potential confusion with the multiplication symbol.
Other non-mathematical uses include:
▪ As a result of its use in maths, X is often used to represent unknowns in other circumstances (e.g. Person X, Place X, etc.: Malcolm X).
▪ X-rays are so called because their discoverer did not know what they were.
▪ X has been used as a namesake for a generation of humans: Generation X, commonly abbreviated to Gen X. It is the generation born after the baby boom ended, ranging from 1961 to 1981.
▪ X is also used for referring to 'the end of conversation'.
▪ X is used by the illiterate in lieu of a signature and indicates a signature line on forms.
▪ In cartoons, Xs are drawn instead of eyes to indicate the death of a character.
▪ X is commonly used as a generic mark (selecting an item on a form, indicating a location on a map, etc.).
▪ A typographic approximation of the multiplication sign × (especially, lowercase Roman "x").
What would we do without Xanadu, or should it be ZanaDO, or ZanaDON’T. Should ‘x’ not mark the spot? Imagine no X-men, no Xbox, or NO X-rays…WHAT?? No tic-tac-toes, no Gen X, and not knowing when a cartoon dies!!! What would we do without ‘x’ as the variable (where would algebra be), or the x axis (how would we graph), or Roman Numerals (where would the Romans be)?
Thanx, Spanx, and tanx.
But that ‘x’ just saved me ‘cks’ 3 times!!! Imagine what X could do to pluralize words!!!!
LEX LET X DO THE “TAWKING”
XOXOXO