Re: Fricative vowels

Clinton Moreland-Stringham wrote:
>
> nicole perrin wrote:
>
> > FFlores wrote:
> >  Vibrant/approximant vowels, if I got it
> > > > correctly [...]
> > > > In other words, they were pronounced, I think, like with an r-ish, or z-ish
> > > > sound to them; perhaps simultaneously pronounced with r or z, or perhaps
> > > > just pronounced with a vibrating tongue.
> > > I told him there are also such vowels in Mandarin, IIRC.
> >
> > Really?  How are they written in pinyin?  (Doesn't sound familiar - not
> > denying it, just curious)
>
>     The word "to be" is _shi_ pronounced like a fast, tense form of English "sure",
> Is that what you mean? Or the "zi" in Laozi, To eat, written "chi" (that energy
> stuff is spelled qi in pinyin) and pronounced like the "chur" or "church".

FWIW, my Mandarin book characterizes these as "blade palatal vowels"

Nicole
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