Voiceless velar fricative

This sound is a voiceless velar fricative, represented by /x/ in the IPA. The symbol comes from the Greek, although the symbol closer to the normally used Greek one is the Voiceless uvular fricative /χ/.

Natlangs

Germanic Languages

English

Anglo-Saxon

In Anglo-Saxon, this sound is represented by h when after a back vowel. Words like Meahte would be pronounced /mɛaxtə/, or breahtma' would be pronounced /brɛaxtma/.

Middle English

The sound from Anglo-Saxon, also came into Middle English. In early forms, it was written h just like in the older language (in poems like Brut). In later years, the spelling shifted to gh in most cases, such as in Chaucer. The word droghte in the second line of the General Prologue, would be pronounced /drɔxt/.

Modern English

In modern English, all standard forms of English have dropped this sound. However, in Scots, as well as some Scottish variations of English, the spellings ch or gh can still be pronounced /x/ after back vowels or any vowel depending on dialect..

High German

In High German today, the sound /x/ is represented by ch after a back vowel. In northern Germanic dialects, such as Low German areas, the sound is retained as /k/ from Proto-Germanic. There are countless examples of German words with the /x/. words like machen (to make) being pronounced /maxən/.

Sources

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