My extended family of all prior generations use the word 'et' rather than ate as the past tense of eat. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it likely to be a misinterpretation of ate pronounced in a really weird regional dialect? I have never heard anyone of my generation (yes, I own it) use the term. I'd think it was a local thing if my parents weren't raised on opposite sides of the globe (which is another thread unto itself).

Rapport was established superficially.