English:
X is a double consonant or, rather, a sign for the compound consonants [ks]; or sometimes when followed by an accented syllable beginning with a vowel, or when followed by silent h and an accented vowel [gz] (e.g.
exhaust,
exam); usually [z] at the beginnings of words (e.g.
xylophone), and in some compounds keeps the [z] sound, as in (e.g.
meta-xylene). It also makes the sound [kʃ] in words ending in -xion. It can also represent the sounds [gʒ] or [kʃ], for example, in the words
luxury and
sexual, respectively. When the letter
X begins a word in the
English language such as
xynene and a
z sound is created the
X is said to be silent. Final x is always [ks] (e.g.
ax/
axe) except in loan words such as
faux
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