I noticed that too, and I thought it was so strange. It sounds like someone who doesn't know the word.

You know what I think?

Jockey's are small.

ett added is a diminutive form, right?

Sorry, just couldn't help it.

Sue

I thought it strange, too.
Found this explanation at the linked message board.
Since I say "valay", I guess I'm of the lower class...lol.

"Found this online. Sounds like both are used. I remember watching "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and Marilyn Monroe saying valet with the "T" sound

"The word is an English one and is correctly pronounced "Vall - ett", although mispronunciation as "Val-ay" is common." according to http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=valet , "[Middle English valette, from Old French vaslet, valet, servant, squire, from Vulgar Latin *vassellitus, diminutive of *vassus, vassal. See vassal.]" So which is right? I have always pronounced it "Val-ay" as well as everyone around me. I know people who have been corrected from saying it "Vall-ett" Also, the dictionary.com pronunciation includes both "Vall-ett" and "Val-ay". Yet another regional difference?

I am going to delete that line for now, unless someone has something contrary to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Arilakon 12:38, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

AFAIK, according to etiquette, the person valet is correctly pronouced VAL-ett. This is the pronunciaion you would find in Mrs Post's book. In American English, the implements (and the fellow who parks the cars) is val-LAY. Americans who would call Jeeves a val-Lay are looked down upon, even by other Americans. Quill 21:54, 10 January 2006 (UTC)
That seems not to be the case. American Heritage (a generally conservative dictionary) lists "val--ay'" and "val'-ay" as the primary pronunciations, followed by "val-it", without comment (the 4th edition is peppered with notes regarding nonstandard and "disparaged" uses and pronunciations). This may well be a British/American divergence, but to simply say that "val-ay" is "not considered correct" (as the article still does), is incorrect or at least incomplete. Elmo iscariot (talk) 14:26, 30 October 2008 (UTC)
As noted by others on this page, the explanation is that the pronunciation of the word valet is class-based in British and U.S. English (see U and non-U English). Upper-class people use pallet, others chalet. Since there are more of the latter than of the former, Bartleby's statement that the pronunciation chalet is "common" is true in more than one sense of that word. Xxanthippe (talk) 01:39, 2 November 2008 (UTC)."

Here is a link that might be useful: source

So maybe when the "New Englanders" came over from across the pond, they prefered to leave to "uppity" use of the word to prove that they are hard working common people.

Wow, I wonder how many toes were stepped on in that statement!

I wondered that same thing when I watched it! I figured I didn't know much about horses and was specific to the horse industry. Interesting...

And didn't it just break your heart to hear the Valet story about his daughter?

Good show!

I thought you didn't pronounce the "t" in valet like you don't pronounce the "t" in chevrolet.

Me too, pekemom. I thought it was a French word, like bouquet.

I lived in England for awhile, and found they had their own way of pronouncing French words, including the "t" sound at the end of buffet, filet and so on.

The first online dictionary reference quoted by lindakathy says valet originated in Old French.

I plan to continue pronouncing the word "val-ay," as per the second reference from American Heritage dictionary.

lol, was just going to post that I heard the same thing on Undercover Boss. Glad I went back and read it. I've never heard it pronounced with the TTs.

To hear a word pronounced you can Google the word along with pronunciation (for example, valet pronunciation) and get a list of dictionary sites that will speak the work aloud. It can come in handy.