A Cross-Language Study of /hi/ and /ç/ in Japanese and German : A Spectral Analysis

Abstract

The present study aims to clarify the phonetic value of the /h/-part in the Japanese syllable /hi/, German /h/ before /i/ and German /ç/ in their specific environments from an acoustic point of view. In phonetic descriptions of Japanese, /h/ before /i/ is often transcribed as both [ç] and devoiced [i] in the same broader context. Since German treats both realizations as phonemically distinct, it seems to be a useful language to compare the Japanese data with. An acoustic analysis of Japanese and German data will be undertaken to show similarities and differences between the acoustic structures of these sounds, depending on the environment in which they occur.