Fwd: -ckx consonant cluster?

[Grant Barrett]

This query is related to our discussion of "moist" and other
repulsive words. Please reply to the list AND the original sender
shown below.

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Christopher Landis Shively" <chrissypants at gmail.com>
> Date: November 8, 2007 14:15:13 EST
> Subject: -ckx consonant cluster?
>
> Hi there. First off, big fan of the blog.
> Second, do you know anything about the consonant cluster -ckx in
> Flemish/Waloon/Brusselois? It seems to be common in surnames and the
> like (such as Flemish musician Marc Ickx), and is pronounced like an
> English "x"—perhaps it came into being as a compromise between Dutch &
> French phonetics, so that a given name is easily pronounced by native
> speakers of either language, but that is a complete guess on my part.
> It absolutely REPULSES my friend Katie (like, way more than "panties"
> or "moist" or "slacks" or any of those words that are supposed to
> repulse people), and it got me wondering when it came to be and why it
> exists. I've not been able to find ANY info on it; not even in Flemish
> / Dutch. You don't see it in good old-fashioned Netherlands Dutch:
> just in Belgium.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Chris

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