Re: Accent

[Robin Turner <robin@bilkent.edu.tr>]

A final {.a'ozo'o} word on the /r/l/ thingy.  There's a thread on the
sci.lang newsgroup ("English R") which has some debate about /r/, including
a few postings on Mandarin.  For my money ...

U.K. English initial  - alveolar approximate
U.K. English final  - not pronounced at all, except between vowels, as a
kind of retroflex schwa
Mandarin initial - slightly retroflex alveolar approximate
Mandarin final - very retroflex schwa

In both English and Mandarin, the initial /l/ requires the tongue to touch
the alveolar ridge, so there should really be no problem in distinguishing
/l/ and /r/ for Mandarin speakers.  As I've said, my teaching experience,
such as it is, has born this out.

What I can never get the hang of is the Lojban vocalic {r}, as in
{pruxrsufi} ({ta'o zo'o} which, for my sins, I unleashed on the Lojban
community).  Is it like the Mandarin final or what?

co'o mi'e robin.