often

[sheena55ro]

How do you usually pronounce the word "often", with "t" or without it?

I used to pronounce this word without "t" but this morning I`ve heard a native pronounce it with the consonant "t" [in a documentary on Animal Planet]


Thank you.

[ana1]

my professor said to me that one can pronounce often with T or without T that does not change anything but one more often pronounces it without T

[MrPedantic]

In British English, the /t/ was mostly silent, by the 19th century ("often" often served as a rhyme for "soften"). In fact, the pronunciation "orphan" was common in both aristocratic and "Cockney" English, until the middle of the 20th century.

The /t/ has re-emerged, however, and is now very common.

MrP

[dihen]

So no one pronounces 'soften' as 'soff-ten'?

[MrPedantic]

Hello Dihen

There may be dialects where people say "sof-ten", and no doubt there are individual "users" who say it; but in standard English, it's always "soff-en".

All the best,
MrP