The letter x can sound (most often) like [gz] and [ks]:
- [gz] in words like exam, exactly.
- [ks] in word like extra, hexagon, etc.
I have found that x is pronounced [gz] whenever it’s in or before the stressed syllable, and [ks] otherwise.
And in a few cases it sounds like [z] when at the beginning of a word.
Do you know other ways of pronouncing this letter? Or other facts that have something to do with its pronunciation?
Best Answer
As a rule of thumb, the prefix ex- is pronounced with /ks/ when the prefix is stressed.:
When this prefix is not stressed, then if the first sound in the root (the part after the prefix) begins with a voiced sound, the prefix will be pronounced with /gz/:
This is still true, of course if the prefix is followed by a silent /h/ in the writing. In this case of course, the first sound in the root is a vowel sound:
If the prefix is followed by an unvoiced sound, then it will be pronounced with /ks/
In the words above we see roots beginning with the following voiceless sounds respectively /p, t, h, s, f/ and so the prefix used /ks/ instead of /gz/.
There is a different prefix in English exo- meaning 'outer' or 'outside'. The meaning is similar to ex- which tends to mean 'out of' or 'from'. The prefix exo- is always pronounced with /ks/. It is a Greek prefix. Another Greek prefix, hex(a), meaning 'six', is also pronounced with /ks/:
X at the end of a word nearly always represents the sounds /ks/.
Very few words in English begin with X. Those that do are mostly from Greek and tend to be pronounced with /z/: