xozox

Xozox is a word that I created to exemplify who I am. It was both an exercise for the University of the Pacific’s One Word Project (pacificoneword.org), and it was the first time I had a name for the movement I’d been fighting for. What exactly is xozox, where does it come from, and why should it matter?

 

The definition of xozox is simple: a definition of existence between translations. Put into practice, think back to the first time you learned the word ‘mother.’ Not the first time you used it, mind you. The first time you learned what one was, is, and if you had one or not. The challenge is most folks knew of mother before ever learning the word ‘mother.’ Many progressed toward the term with ‘ma’, ‘mum’, etc. In some cases, the word ‘mother’ was not registered in English at all, possibly as okaasan or madre.

 

The idea is not to muddle the complexities or examine the process of getting from one word to another. Xozox simply declares that from the point of recognition of what a mother is to the time the word ‘mother’ in English is used, there exists the entity that is a mother.

 

When you’ve attempted to say ‘xozox’ I imagine there might’ve been some hesitation to do so as well. In practice, words that begin with ‘x’ typically may start with a ‘zee’ sound, while ‘x’ at the end has a ‘kuh’ sound. The beauty of the construction of my word is that I am comfortable and confident that you can use it in both ways as you see fit. Why? The word itself gives you the freedom to do so, even when the language its written in may not. Do you see why I made this word?

 

My recent TEDxCSU talk has given me a platform to share a different insight to what xozox is and means to me. (Hopefully you've already seen it.) I use xozox indirectly and directly to inform my current endeavors in higher education. As I begin to write about xozox, I also want to share more about how xozox has informed my work. Feel free to read some of my published works below.