Why exactly is this bad, timos? The cll does it because how else can we explain to nintadni that "o" says english "bold" not "so"?
I find that now that I have a pretty good grasp of lojban pronounciation, I have a new tool to help me better communicate differences of accent.
Ideally I should just get off my lazy arse and learn IPA though :(
i.e. lojban vowels don't help me to describe the difference in pronounciation of "b[o]ston".
But the difference between english "pie" and "pipe" is most certainly distinguishable using lojban vowels (the difference being "pai" vs and "pyip"). Just try saying "pie" in english followed quickly by the "p" sound and you will hear that it sounds funny and distinctly not like "pipe"