Addressing transgender men and women will no longer be confusing, as the Oxford English Dictionary has officially declared it will be adding a new title for transgender in its next edition.
Mx., which is pronounced as either "mux" or "mix," will now be considered as the correct title to use when addressing transgender people, according to Jonathan Dent, the assistant editor of Oxford English Dictionary, who spoke with the Sunday Times.
"This is an example of how the English language adapts to people's needs, with people using language in ways that suit them rather than letting language dictate identity to them," Dent said in the interview. He also said that this move is a first for honorifics, as it has been ages since an acceptable term has been added to the entries. Mx. will join Mr., Ms., Miss and Mrs. in the list of titles pertaining to a person.
Oxford's decision, however, comes two years late, according to Raw Story. In Britain, the use of Mx. has been quietly accepted in official forms and documents like mails, and identification cards like driver's license.
UKTrans Info said that the title has first appeared in the 1980s, as outlined in its report, but a transgender group has also uncovered proof of its use in a novel that dates back to 1901, as stated by Raw Story. In the same feature, the use of Mx. was apparently also first discussed on the Internet in a Google group from 1982.
Meanwhile, some people have expressed their objection for the title, even as the transgender community has welcomed the acknowledgement.
"I think that it's ugly. And whichever way you pronounce it as mix, mux or Mx it's going to sound inept and uncomfortable," Emeritus Professor Roland Sussex, a language expert, told ABC Australia. Although the professor isn't going against the idea, he finds the term ill-fitting.
"And I'm afraid Mx looks like a half-blown scientific formula or expression of some kind. And mux, it just doesn't sound very nice," the professor added.
