# Is Mexico technically supposed to have a 'sh' sound to it?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [February 24, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197 "2009-02-24T15:23:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197/1 "2009-02-24T15:23:47Z")
Since the Latinization of Aztec/Nuatl words ordains that an “X” has the “sh” sound as in “Should”, should not the word “Mexico” be pronounced “MEH-shi-coh”?
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### Author:  [@Stathol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stathol)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197/2 "2009-02-24T15:50:49Z")
Well, the OED says that “Mexico” derived from the [Nahuatl](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahuatl) name “Mexitli”, which was an Aztec god.
I can’t say I know anything at all about Nahuatl pronunciation, or exactly which Nahuatl consonant the Spaniard intended to convey with ‘x’. In Spanish, it’s pronounced somewhat like an English ‘h’ (as in the word ‘hat’), only a bit softer/breathier.
Anyway, maybe the Phonology section of that article will give you something to go on. I’m not really hip to all this phonetic vocabulary. I wouldn’t know a “voiceless labialized velar approximant” if it came up and bit me.
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### Author:  [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2009, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197/3 "2009-02-24T16:02:41Z")
I am not sure what you mean by “technically”.
In 16th century Spanish the pronunciation of X was, indeed, “sh”. Then languages change and all that.
The Spanish southern town of Xerex became Sherry in English and Jerez in modern Spanish.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197/4 "2009-02-24T16:28:40Z")
> [@sailor](#):
>
> .
>
> The Spanish southern town of Xerex became Sherry in English and Jerez in modern Spanish.
To make it even more fun, many Spanish pronounce it “HerETH”.
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### Author:  [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197/5 "2009-02-24T17:03:56Z")
> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> To make it even more fun, many Spanish pronounce it “HerETH”.
I am not sure why it’s fun. In southern Spain and Spanish America that is the correct pronunciation, like an aspirated H. In fact, when the pronunciation of “Mexico” (Meshico) changed in Spanish the Spanish changed the ortography to Méjico which correctly reflects the new pronunciation. Mexicans decided to keep the old spelling which to me makes no sense. And Anglos pronounce it “Meksico” which makes even less sense.
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### Author:  [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197/6 "2009-02-24T17:16:00Z")
> [@sailor](#):
>
> And Anglos pronounce it “Meksico” which makes even less sense.
I am not sure why it makes even less sense.
That’s how the letter _x_ is pronounced in English. We tend to pronounce names and words according to our own pronunciation rules and not theirs.
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### Author:  [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197/7 "2009-02-24T17:19:57Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#):
>
> I am not sure why it makes even less sense.
>
> That’s how the letter _x_ is pronounced in English. We tend to pronounce names and words according to our own pronunciation rules and not theirs.
For example, “PAH-RISS”, not “PUH-REE”
Ed
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### Author:  [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197/8 "2009-02-24T17:21:45Z")
> [@suranyi](#):
>
> For example, “PAH-RISS”, not “PUH-REE”
>
> Ed
or, more accurately, Pair-us.:eek:
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### Author:  [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197/9 "2009-02-24T17:37:45Z")
> [@sassyfras](#):
>
> Since the Latinization of Aztec/Nuatl words ordains that an “X” has the “sh” sound as in “Should”, should not the word “Mexico” be pronounced “MEH-shi-coh”?
I have never heard this before, but it’s very intriguing because in Brazilian Portuguese, this is exactly how one pronounces the name (e.g. _mexer_ - to stir, is pronounced “meshEHR”). Not that it has anything to do with anything, mind you.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197/10 "2009-02-24T17:42:27Z")
Every Mexican I know sez “Meh **Hee** ko”.
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### Author:  [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197/11 "2009-02-24T19:05:34Z")
> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> Every Mexican I know sez “Meh **Hee** ko”.
Here we go again. You must know zero Mexicans because the stress in on the first syllable. You _really_ need to check your facts before you post. This is really basic and common knowledge for anyone who speaks a few words of Spanish.
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### Author:  [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197/12 "2009-02-24T19:08:41Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#):
>
> I have never heard this before, but it’s very intriguing because in Brazilian Portuguese, this is exactly how one pronounces the name (e.g. _mexer_ - to stir, is pronounced “meshEHR”). Not that it has anything to do with anything, mind you.
As I already said, the tribe were the Meshicas and the pronunciation of old Spanish of the letter X was pretty close to “SH”. Over time the pronunciation changed in Spanish.
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### Author:  [@Zagalejo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zagalejo)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197/13 "2009-02-24T20:01:19Z")
> [@sailor](#):
>
> Here we go again. You must know zero Mexicans because the stress in on the first syllable. You _really_ need to check your facts before you post. This is really basic and common knowledge for anyone who speaks a few words of Spanish.
To be fair, he might have been emphasizing the consonant sound, rather than indicating an accent.
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### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197/14 "2009-02-24T20:01:38Z")
> [@sailor](#):
>
> Here we go again. You must know zero Mexicans because the stress in on the first syllable.
Does _every_ Mexican know that, or is it a ‘rule’ that’s really subject to regional variation?
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### Author:  [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197/15 "2009-02-24T20:15:19Z")
It’s been a few years, so the memory is fuzzy. But I recall a college professor way back when telling us the “tl” sound in the Nahuatl language was rather unusual and that “tl” was the closest the Spaniards could come to it. I think he may have said it was actually a clicking sound like the Kalihari bushmen used.
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### Author:  [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197/16 "2009-02-24T20:20:35Z")
> [@Derleth](#):
>
> Does _every_ Mexican know that, or is it a ‘rule’ that’s really subject to regional variation?
No, every Mexican knows it.
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### Author:  [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2009, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197/17 "2009-02-24T20:21:50Z")
Something that’s spelled with an X in Spanish can correspond to several phonemes, it’s got to do with the origin of the word and with how language evolves (the W has the same problem, it can sound GÜ as in English-origin whisky, or B as in Germanic Wamba). The way Mexicans say Mexico is with a spanish-J, other times an X can be KS or SH. It’s a letter better approached with caution…
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### Author:  [@Joey\_Tightlips](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_Tightlips)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197/18 "2009-02-24T20:36:45Z")
> [@Derleth](#):
>
> Does _every_ Mexican know that, or is it a ‘rule’ that’s really subject to regional variation?
More generally, everyone who speaks Spanish should know that. I was as horrible a Spanish student as anyone, but I remember that the accent always goes on the second to last syllable, unless there is an accent marker. So it would be pronounced MeHEEko but since Mexico is really “México”, this is one of the exceptions. That was one great thing about Spanish, I didn’t know what 99% of it meant, but I could READ it fluently. 😉
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197/19 "2009-02-24T20:38:12Z")
> [@Zagalejo](#):
>
> To be fair, he might have been emphasizing the consonant sound, rather than indicating an accent.
Exactly. And, I live in San Jose, where sometimes they even fly the Mexican flag over City Hall!
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### Author:  [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mexico-technically-supposed-to-have-a-sh-sound-to-it/487197/20 "2009-02-24T20:40:28Z")
> [@sailor](#):
>
> > [@minor7flat5](#):
> >
> > I have never heard this before, but it’s very intriguing because in Brazilian Portuguese, this is exactly how one pronounces the name (e.g. mexer - to stir, is pronounced “meshEHR”). Not that it has anything to do with anything, mind you.
>
> As I already said, the tribe were the Meshicas and the pronunciation of old Spanish of the letter X was pretty close to “SH”. Over time the pronunciation changed in Spanish.
My mention of Portuguese is just an interesting red herring, not applicable in this discussion. In that context, what does your “already said” statement about Spanish have to do with a general pronunciation rule for the letter “X” in Portuguese?
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