An acoustic analysis of Norwegian /C/ and /S/ as spoken by young people

This study investigates some acoustic characteristics of Norwegian /C/ and /S/ as spoken by two groups of young people. Whereas the first group distinguished between the two fricatives in production, the other speakers showed articulatory merging, producing both /C/ and /S/ as [S]. Parameters measured were duration and relative rms amplitude of the fricative and four spectral properties, viz. lower and upper edge and peak frequency, as well as centre of gravity. The results show that the two fricatives are mainly distinguished by their spectral properties. For younger speakers with a merged pronunciation, merging is not fully completed.