The whole problem with this situation may have arisen due to the fact that writing the letter E in Russian is optional in most cases (except for words where its replacement with E may entail a change in the meaning of the word or sentence). This is the only such situation for all of our thirty-three letters of the alphabet. Why not make it mandatory?
The answer to this question can be seen on any modern computer keyboard (which, by the way, copies the layout of the keys on a typewriter). For blind typing, its location is extremely inconvenient. Or maybe it's about saving ink when printing? One way or another, the name of one of the most widespread root crops, beets, is under attack.
The correct stress in the word "beet"
Beets are one of the most important agricultural crops. Modern selection offers us both vegetable beet (chard), table beet, fodder beet, and sugar beet. Its importance is especially great in Europe. In countries where sugarcane cannot grow, the production of a product such as beet sugar can hardly be overestimated. This vegetable is used both for livestock feed and for consumption inhuman food. The alcohol industry without it will not be able to produce alcohols for both technical and food purposes.
So which syllable should be stressed in "beets"? Let us turn to the existing dictionaries to clarify this issue. The answer is unequivocal: the stress is possible only on the first syllable. It is correct to use this word with the letter E. Although its spelling is optional, its pronunciation is the only correct one. Derivatives formed from the word "beet" retain the stress on the second syllable. So, it is correct to say beetroot juice, beetroot.
In what cases is it possible to have an alternative accent in "beetroot"?
Stressing the word "beetroot" on the last syllable is possible only as a literary device to demonstrate vernacular. There are no other options in any dictionary. In order not to be considered an uneducated person, it is unforgivable to allow such relaxation in one's own speech. But you don’t have to go to the other extreme - you shouldn’t rush to correct the interlocutor in an ordinary conversation if he made such a mistake, if he doesn’t ask you for advice. You can gently point out inaccuracies or remain silent. After all, rudeness is in no way justified by your erudition.
How the stress falls in the word "beetroot"
In this case, the stress falls on the suffix ("beetroot"). The fact is that this adjective did not come from the word "beetroot", but from the noun "beetroot". It denotes specific varieties of this root crop - sugar-bearing, going toproduction of raw sugar. Therefore, the emphasis here is different. Thus, the derivatives of this noun will also be stressed on the third syllable: beet molasses, beet pulp, etc.
The further fate of the letter E in beets
One must take into account the fact that language is not a rigid tool. It is in constant change, adapting to modern realities, to the emerging traditions of speech. Now coffee can be both neuter and masculine, in the word yogurt the stress can be placed on both the first and second syllables, and even instead of a contract, a contract form is used. Perhaps the same fate awaits the "beets". Stress depends on the popularity of a particular form of pronunciation. If the option, which is now considered incorrect, will be used by more people, then a revision is possible. But until this happens, and the Ministry of Education has not approved the double-correct form, one should still be guided by the existing rules.
