By this definition, Xolo wouldn’t fit because the x in Xolo is somewhere between sh- and ch-. It’s a Nahuatl word and many (if not all) Xs are sh-/ch-.
The Nahuatl word Xoloitzcuintle is something the vast majority of English-speaking Americans can’t read, let alone spell or pronounce correctly. So the more digestible word Xolo was adopted to identify Mexican hairless dogs (hard X, hard O, L, hard O).
Xolo - hairless Mexican dog
Xenops - small bird
(I don’t use X-Ray because saying the letter X doesn’t make either of the letter’s major phonetic sounds.)
Excuse me?
X, spoken as a letter = ecks
Hard phonetic sound = zz, same as the letter Z (almost always at the beginning of a word. Xylophone)
Soft phonetic sound = ksk (never at the beginning of a word. Box, oxen)
(disclaimer: American English, ymmv.)
By this definition, Xolo wouldn’t fit because the x in Xolo is somewhere between sh- and ch-. It’s a Nahuatl word and many (if not all) Xs are sh-/ch-.
Sorry for being pedantic.
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To be fair, most English words aren’t even really English
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Don’t be sorry, you’re not pedantic enough.
The Nahuatl word Xoloitzcuintle is something the vast majority of English-speaking Americans can’t read, let alone spell or pronounce correctly. So the more digestible word Xolo was adopted to identify Mexican hairless dogs (hard X, hard O, L, hard O).
As an English speaking American I can confirm. I started pronouncing it in my head then kinda gave up cus I haven’t had enough coffee yet