Do arabic speakers have any problem with "T" sounds?
I recently heard about a person from Jordan trying to say the Japanese word "tsuma" (wife), but saying "uma" (horse) instead. I assume the person just made a small mistake, but do Arabic speakers have any problem with the "T" sound (or more precisely, the "tsu" sound, like in "tsunami")?
@AndrewGrimm They pronounce it a bit like a mixture of the ط and ث sounds, (click on the listen button). Basically it's just a matter of getting used to it, and it depends on the speaker.
@AndrewGrimm Arabic doesn't really have consonant blends. syllables can begin and/or end with single consonants (which can blend in the middle of a word between syllables), but you'll never have a word actually starting with two consonants.
dunno if that's the reason, though, with it being a problem for "ts" without also being a problem for any number of other more common blends.
and even then, you're more likely to end up with either an inserted vowel or a replacement consonant than an actual drop of the whole thing. eg tuh-suma, tuma, zuma.