Sunday, 02 June, 2024

NRTC English: The letter ‘t’ isn’t pronounced in debut, sachet, depot, chalet, rapport, and mortgage


If it is easy to say rapport /ræ’pɔːr/ without the ‘t’ sounding, then you can pronounce words like depot /ˈdep.əʊ/ and debut /ˈdeɪ.bju/. Pronounce depot just like ghetto, and debut like fable – except that the second syllable in debut sounds like the way you pronounce ‘you‘. Never pronounce the letter ‘t’.

Rapport is a close and harmonious relationship in which the people or groups concerned understand each other’s feelings or ideas and communicate well. For example, she was able to establish a good rapport with the children.

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It is important to note that many words in English that are derived from French (like depot /ˈdep.əʊ/, sachet /ˈsæʃ.eɪ/, rapport /ræpˈɔːr/, debut /ˈdeɪ.bju/, chalet /ˈʃæl.eɪ/, ballet /ˈbæl.eɪ/, sachet /ˈsæʃ.eɪ/, bouquet /buˈkeɪ/, depot /ˈdep.əʊ/, mortgage /ˈmɔː.ɡɪdʒ/, etc.) have the silent letter t.

There’s a simple logic behind this. In French, the last consonants in many words are not pronounced.

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Ballet is pronounced like café, and the second syllable of sachet /ˈsæʃ.eɪ/ is pronounced like shame.

Ballet is an artistic dance form performed to music, using precise and highly formalized set steps and gestures. Classical ballet, which originated in Renaissance Italy and established its present form during the 19th century, is characterized by light, graceful movements and the use of pointe shoes with reinforced toes.

Credit: The New York Times

Other words where the consonant ‘t’ is silent are apostle, fasten, listen /ˈlɪs.ən/ (‘listen’ is pronounced like the sound in see, as in lisiin, NOT liziin), castle, pestle, hustle /ˈhʌs.əl/, wrestle, bustle, hasten, moisten, christen (and even Christmas).

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The other words like pestle, hustle, fasten, etc are also pronounced just like how listen is. Never make it sound like zin/zul/stul. You gerrit?


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