Another pronunciation note: regarding hi and sh

[solostyle]

I've been talking to a native speaker from Yokohama for the past several months. The first time he said the word "hito", I heard it as "shto." It was only after practicing saying it myself several times, in different ways, that I realized that the "hi" in Japanese is so high (the tongue placed very close to the alveolar ridge) that it really is almost a "sh" sound. Have other people noticed this too?

[snallygaster]

I believe it's a trademark Tokyo-ben thing. Actually I think it's not uncommon for "hi" to have a bit of "shi" sound to it, depending on the other sounds around it. But in Tokyo-ben it's stronger & more consistent, & "shi" and "hi" are actually swapped.

[Keith]

You should listen more closely. The "hi" is not being replaced by a "shi" sound. Actually, after the "hi" the "s" or "sh" sound is coming in. It sounds a bit like a fuzzy "s" sound. It depends on the person who's speaking, I suppose. But to me, I often hear it sound more like "histo" but not with such a clean "s" sound. There is a lot of air in there.

Anyway, like Snallygaster said, it's a common Tokyo thing. The people themselves have no idea it sounds like an "s" in there, but the linguists know. It was noted in my textbook.

Sorry for being a "know-it-all."

[spurrymoses]

Yes, I noticed it too.
Actually, it was written in one of the sheets of paper I was given to study when I first started 2 years back . It pointed out that 'hi' was not really an English 'hi', but that it was more like a german 'chh' sound.

I think everyone in Japan does this - in a similar way that 'fu' doesn't really sound much like the english pronunciation of 'fu'. It didn't take me long to find an example - here it is:
まだ、ひくかったですね

This page mentions it - although probably makes it sound a bit too easy: http://japan-studies.com/language/pronunciation/