German Ach-Laut

[pne]

I used to think that the German Ach-Laut was always [χ], but right now I'm listening to a speaker who has [x] there -- for example, he says [bu:x] instead of [bu:χ], which is what I'd say.

Fascinating!

And I think now I have a better idea what [x] sounds like, and am more sure that the sound I have is, indeed, [χ] and not [x] :)

Comments

[allegrox.livejournal.com]

Standard German is usually described as having [x], but there's some variation.
Back before I learned how to pronounce the ich-laut and ach-laut, I moved them both back so that they were [x] and [χ], respectively, rather than the [ç] and [x] that I use now. This helped me since I had difficulty distinguishing [ç] from [ʃ].