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===Romance languages=== In Latin, {{angbr|x}} stood for {{IPA|/ks/}}. In the [[Romance languages]], as a result of assorted phonetic changes, {{angbr|x}} has other pronunciations: *In [[Catalan language|Catalan]], {{angbr|x}} has three pronunciations; the most common is {{IPAslink|ʃ}}; as in ''xarop'' ('syrup'). Others are: {{IPA|/ks/}}; ''fixar'' ('to fix'), {{IPA|/ɡz/}}; ''examen''. In addition, {{IPAslink|ʃ}} gets voiced to {{IPAblink|ʒ}} before voiced consonants; ''caixmir''. Catalan also has the digraph {{angbr|tx}}, pronounced {{IPAslink|tʃ}}. *In [[Galician language|Galician]] and [[Leonese language|Leonese]], {{angbr|x}} is pronounced {{IPAslink|ʃ}} in most cases (often used in place of etymological ''g'' or ''j''). The pronunciation {{IPA|/ks/}} occurs in learned words, such as '<nowiki/>''taxativo''<nowiki/>' (taxing). However, Galician speakers tend to pronounce it {{IPAslink|s}}, especially when it appears before plosives, such as in ''externo'' <nowiki/>('external'). *In [[French language|French]], {{angbr|x}} usually represents {{IPA|/ks/}} or (primarily in words beginning with ex- followed by a vowel) {{IPA|/ɡz/}}. It is pronounced {{IPAslink|s}} in some city names such as ''[[Brussels|Bruxelles]]'' (although some people pronounce it 'ks') or ''[[Auxerre]]''; it is nevertheless pronounced {{IPA|/ks/}} in [[Aix (disambiguation)|Aix]], the name of several towns. At the ends of other words, it is silent (or {{IPAslink|z}} in [[Liaison (French)|liaison]] if the next word starts with a vowel). Two exceptions are pronounced {{IPAslink|s}}: ''six'' ('six') and ''dix'' ('ten'). It is pronounced {{IPAslink|z}} in ''sixième'' and ''dixième''. *In [[Italian language|Italian]], {{angbr|x}} is either pronounced {{IPA|/ks/}}, as in ''extra'', ''uxorio'', ''xilofono'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dizionario.rai.it |title=Dizionario di ortografia e pronunzia |trans-title=Dictionary of Spelling and Pronunciation |language=it |website=Dizionario di ortografia e pronunzia |access-date=9 February 2014 |archive-date=16 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180416110248/http://www.dizionario.rai.it/ |url-status=live }}</ref> or {{IPA|/ɡz/}}, as in ''exogamia'', when it is preceded by {{angbr|e}} and followed by a vowel. In several related languages, notably [[Venetian language|Venetian]], it represents the voiced [[sibilant]] {{IPAslink|z}}. It is also used, mainly amongst young people, as a short written form for "per" (meaning "for"); for example, "x sempre" ("forever"). This is because in Italian, the [[×|multiplication sign]] is called "per". However, {{angbr|x}} is found only in [[loanword]]s, as it is not part of the standard [[Italian alphabet]]; in most words with {{angbr|x}}, this letter may be replaced with 's' or 'ss' (with different pronunciation: ''xilofono''/''silofono'', ''taxi''/''tassì'') or, rarely, by 'cs' (with the same pronunciation: ''claxon''/''[[:it:clacson|clacson]]''). *In [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], {{angbr|x}} has four main pronunciations; the most common is {{IPAslink|ʃ}}, as in ''xícara'' ('cup'). The other sounds are: {{IPA|/ks/}} as in ''flexão'' ('flexion'); {{IPAslink|s}}, when preceded by E and followed by a consonant, as in ''contexto'' ({{IPAslink|ʃ}} in European Portuguese), and in a small number of other words, such as ''próximo'' (close/next); and (the rarest) {{IPAslink|z}}, which occurs in the prefix "ex-" before a vowel, as in ''exagerado'' ('exaggerated'). A rare fifth sound is {{IPA|/ɡz/}}, coexisting with {{IPAslink|z}} and {{IPA|/ks/}} as acceptable pronunciations in ''exantema'' and in words with the Greek prefix 'hexa-'. *In [[Sardinian language|Sardinian]] and [[Ligurian (Romance language)|Ligurian]], {{angbr|x}} represents {{IPAslink|ʒ}}. *In [[Old Spanish]], {{angbr|x}} was pronounced {{IPAslink|ʃ}}, as it is still currently in other [[Iberian Romance languages]]. Later, the sound evolved to a {{IPAslink|x}} sound. In modern [[Spanish language|Spanish]], due to a spelling reform, whenever {{angbr|x}} is used for the {{IPAslink|x}} sound it has been replaced with {{angbr|j}}, including in words that originally had {{angbr|x}} such as ''ejemplo'' or ''ejercicio'', though {{angbr|x}} is still retained for some names (notably "México", even though "Méjico" may sometimes be used in Spain). Presently, {{angbr|x}} represents the sound {{IPAslink|s}} (word-initially), or the consonant cluster {{IPA|/ks/}} (e.g. ''oxígeno'', ''examen''). Rarely, it can be pronounced {{IPAslink|ʃ}} as in Old Spanish in some proper nouns such as ''Raxel'' (a variant of ''[[Rachel]]'') and ''[[Uxmal]]''. *In [[Venetian language|Venetian]], {{angbr|x}} represents the voiced alveolar sibilant {{IPAslink|z}}, much like in Portuguese 'exagerado', English 'xylophone' or in the French 'sixième'. Examples from medieval texts include ''raxon'' ('reason'), ''prexon'' ('prison'), ''dexerto'' ('desert'), and ''chaxa'' or ''caxa'' ('home'). Nowadays, the best-known word is ''xe'' (is/are). The most notable exception to this rule is the name ''Venexia'', {{IPA|/veˈnɛsja/}}, in which {{angbr|x}} has evolved from the initial voiced sibilant {{IPAslink|z}} to the present-day voiceless sibilant {{IPAslink|s}}.
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