In some loanwords that are widely used, yes (i.e. loch, challah, chutzpah, etc) , but in the US only a pedant would expect people to apply that to epoch. I guess I've heard /ipɔx/, but /ipɔk/ or /ɛpɔk/ are more common
Replies
...this has got me thinking of where /x/ contrasts with /h/ vs /k/ in English as people actually pronounce things; language of origin/orthography definitely matter but I think it's mostly beginning of the word people are most likely to interchange with /h/, end of the word with /k/
aug 7, 2025, 4:30 pm • 1 0 • view
Yeah, orthography no doubt matters. E.g., no-one says “Khan” as “han”.
aug 7, 2025, 4:31 pm • 2 0 • view
Greek X in general usually gets pronounced as 'k'/"kai" in US English, I assume for reasons of how schools that taught Classical Greek went about doing so for the past century or two. It's particularly noticeable in college fraternity names.
aug 7, 2025, 4:40 pm • 1 0 • view
And people who are use /x/ in other contexts don't usually apply it to Greek loanwords unless they're making a point about speaking Greek
aug 7, 2025, 4:43 pm • 1 0 • view