Why is 「この人」 sometimes pronounced like 「このしと」?


> **Possible Duplicate:**  
>  [Why the "H" is pronounced Sh in some
> cases.](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/1437/why-the-h-is-
> pronounced-sh-in-some-cases)

I notice native speakers frequently sound as if they are reading 「この人」 as
「このしと」. I am aware of instances where sounds are altered to make pronunciation
more natural (e.g., 洗濯機 > せんたっき). Is this one of those instances, or is it
perhaps dialectical?




Only have one small thing to add to Jesse's answer.

Even in [Standard Japanese
phonology](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_phonology#endnote_8a), /h/ is
pronounced differently in ひ than in, say, は, which makes it sound a lot closer
to /sj/. _How_ close the pronunciation is for individual speakers, as Jesse
says, is dialectal, and even depends on the specific word.

Another factor may be that many speakers don't or hardly pronounce the /i/
sound in ひと. I feel that this makes it harder to hear the difference. For
example, ひいて and しいて (where the vowels have to be pronounced) seem easier to
distinguish than しく and ひく (where the vowel might not be pronounced as
clearly).

Incidentally, one of the most common examples of the (opposite) phenomenon is
敷{し}く which many pronounce as ひく. Not sure if it goes the other way as well.




Only have one small thing to add to Jesse's answer.

Even in [Standard Japanese
phonology](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_phonology#endnote_8a), /h/ is
pronounced differently in ひ than in, say, は, which makes it sound a lot closer
to /sj/. _How_ close the pronunciation is for individual speakers, as Jesse
says, is dialectal, and even depends on the specific word.

Another factor may be that many speakers don't or hardly pronounce the /i/
sound in ひと. I feel that this makes it harder to hear the difference. For
example, ひいて and しいて (where the vowels have to be pronounced) seem easier to
distinguish than しく and ひく (where the vowel might not be pronounced as
clearly).

Incidentally, one of the most common examples of the (opposite) phenomenon is
敷{し}く which many pronounce as ひく. Not sure if it goes the other way as well.

