I ask your readers this question "has anyone tasted Tee in Borscht?"
Those who have partaken in this local cultural food would would likely answer, "there is no Tee in Borscht."
They may also add "I mispelled Tee which is corrected as Tea."
So that is my point! I grew up with my first language as Russian and my mother fed me good Borsch and that is exactly how she taught me to pronounce it.
To my knowledge neither the Ukranians (who have a good borsch also) nor the Russian-speaking Douhobors have a "t" sound when they say Borsch.
So why do all the local signs advertize "Borscht"? I patronized these establsihments and I came away convinced that I could not taste the "t" in their Borscht.
My wife Marilyn makes borsch as good as my mother did (maybe even better).
Elmer Verigin,
Castlegar