Say ballet but don't forget etiquette. Words used in English, derived from the French, which still used the French pronunciation, often puzzle those who have not learned French, but seem obvious to anybody who has learned French.
ET
Ballet and other words ending with et are pronounced 'ay'.
ballet
bouquet
cachet
tourniquet
ETTE
Words ending with e t t e are pronounced like bet, forget, met and yet
banquette - bench seat with padding and a back usually against a wall
briquette - small brick, food or loaf with brick shape
etiquette - polite behaviour conforming, originally a ticket to an event at court specifying the rules such as the dress code, for example, black tie
tête-á-tête - literally head to head, cosy chat .(I just inserted the circumflexes and the accent on 'a' but the spellchecker removed them. I've added the hyphens and hope that makes the difference.)
Angela Lansbury, travel writer, teacher and tutor of English and French.
ET
Ballet and other words ending with et are pronounced 'ay'.
ballet
bouquet
cachet
tourniquet
ETTE
Words ending with e t t e are pronounced like bet, forget, met and yet
banquette - bench seat with padding and a back usually against a wall
briquette - small brick, food or loaf with brick shape
etiquette - polite behaviour conforming, originally a ticket to an event at court specifying the rules such as the dress code, for example, black tie
tête-á-tête - literally head to head, cosy chat .(I just inserted the circumflexes and the accent on 'a' but the spellchecker removed them. I've added the hyphens and hope that makes the difference.)
Angela Lansbury, travel writer, teacher and tutor of English and French.
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