[General] Often

[dina89]

Is often pronounced as (off-hen) or (off-ten) because I heard both of them and they are confusing me too much

 

[Tdol]

Dictionaries give both forms as correct. Words can have different pronunciations in different regions/countries.

 

[billmcd]

I'll live in the "t" is silent region.

 

[Linguist__]

I think I say both, but which one I say doesn't rely on context or anything like that. It's just whatever comes out in speech. Either is correct.

 

[Williamyh]

Is often pronounced as (off-hen) or (off-ten) because I heard both of them and they are confusing me too much

often ˈɒf.ᵊn, -tᵊn ˈɑː.fᵊn, ˈɑːf.tᵊn

 

[Mr. Spivey]

A lot of times, people who enunciate the 't' in 'often' are attempting to appear smart or educated. It's an intentional enunciation. "Offen" is generally accepted as the right way to say it, though, so the attempted show of intelligence strikes one as ironic.

 

[Mohammadhelmi]

both pronunciations are correct

 

[bds51]

Is often pronounced as (off-hen) or (off-ten)? If you remove the 'h' you've added to the first pronunciation, then both [off en] and [off tin] or [off ten] are all correct. The silent 't' is more common in the US and Canadians tend to pronounce it either way. I agree there are some native speakers who pronunce the 't' as a way of impressing others.
bds

 

[~Mav~]

"Often" by HRH Prince Charles himself (at 1:48 :!: )

 

[Williamyh]

Is often pronounced as (off-hen) or (off-ten) because I heard both of them and they are confusing me too much

There are a lot of different pronunciations for "Often", if you would like to know all of them, I suggest you to buy the Oxford or Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, they will show you all different pronunciations for "Often", as I know there are at least 8 different pronunications for "Often"....here are some pronunciation from Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, you may take it for references :

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 8th edition   often
[FONT=&quot]BrE [FONT=&quot]/ ˈɒfn [FONT=&quot]/
[FONT=&quot]NAmE [FONT=&quot]/ ˈɔːfn [FONT=&quot]/ [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]NAmE [FONT=&quot]/ [/FONT]ˈɑːfn [FONT=&quot]/ [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]BrE [FONT=&quot]/ [/FONT]ˈɒftən [FONT=&quot]/ [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]NAmE [FONT=&quot]/ [/FONT]ˈɔːftən [FONT=&quot]/ [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]NAmE [FONT=&quot]/ [/FONT]ˈɑːftən [FONT=&quot]/[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[/FONT][/FONT]
[/FONT]
[/FONT]

 

[leonwool]

You said that you have heard the word 'often' pronounced with and without a 't' sound. It is accepted as correct both ways. It depends on the region. Dalziel (His name is not pronounced as you might expect) From BBC's Dalziel and Pascoe pronounces the 't' in often but I don't. We both have British accents but his is a West country accent. Most peope will drop the 't' in often . Without knowing how you speak , I'd suggest that you drop the 't' and concur with the majority.

There are many different English accents. There are broadly speaking, around 12 clearly identifiable accents in Britain. There's more diversity within Britain than outside Britain. The most extreme accents being Rab-C Nesbitfrom Glasgow (Search You-Tube) and the Newcastle accent from the North East of England.

If you would like to learn any of these accents then I could offer to teach you from a book called "Accents for actors"

Regards Leon Wooldridge

 

[elmundodelexito]

A lot of times, people who enunciate the 't' in 'often' are attempting to appear smart or educated. It's an intentional enunciation. "Offen" is generally accepted as the right way to say it, though, so the attempted show of intelligence strikes one as ironic.

That's true I hear that in my work a lot of more than in the streets.

 

[Teia]

Hi Leon

Your thorough explanation is really interesting especially for people [ like me, for instance ] who don`t have much knowledge regarding the diverse accents in English. However, how do professors from Cambridge or Oxford pronounce this word - often ?

Thank you very much in advance.