Compare that with 413 syllables for Chinese if you ignore tones, 1522 syllables if you consider tones. This is why Chinese speakers so mangle foreign names--th

Compare that with 413 syllables for Chinese if you ignore tones, 1522 syllables if you consider tones. This is why Chinese speakers so mangle foreign names--they have no alphabet to learn the sounds of letters and they have so few syllables that learning to speak by syllables works well. Unfortunately, it works horribly when faced with names that use syllables they don't have.