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.
And also its Xoloitzcuintle. A bit of a mouth full for a 6 year old. Also, like you said a nahuatl word and not English.
To be fair, most English words aren’t even really English
Most words used in normal, day-to-day conversations are English.
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).