English Pronunciation Tip of the Day
Tip 75
Category: Word
endings
Author: JAM
<-et>
When unstressed the word ending <-et> is most frequently pronounced /It/, or for some speakers /@t/. Examples are: bullet hatchet mallet turret wallet. However there are a number of words, most of which are loans from French, where the /t/ is silent and the ending is pronounced /eI/. Here are some examples:
| ballet | /"b{leI/ |
| buffet | /"bVfeI/ |
| crochet | /"kr@USeI/ |
| chalet | /"S{leI/ |
| ricochet | /"rIk@SeI/ |
| sachet | /"s{SeI/ |
| sorbet | /"sO:beI/ |
Notice the pronunciation ch > /S/ in many of these words. In US English words like these tend to have the stress on the final syllable, so /b{"leI/, /S{"leI/ etc.