Reply With QuoteBoth pronunciations are acceptable.
https://www.lexico.com/definition/often
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Thread: correct pronunciation of 'often'
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19-Jan-2021, 09:46 #1
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correct pronunciation of 'often'
Could you please tell me how to pronounce the word 'often' correctly nowadays? Is there still the silent medial \t\?
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19-Jan-2021, 10:34 #2
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Re: correct pronunciation of 'often'
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19-Jan-2021, 11:33 #3
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Re: correct pronunciation of 'often'
You might want to bookmark Forvo. It's a great site where you can hear words pronounced by native speakers from different parts of the world. Choose English from the list of languages, then put "often" in the search box, then listen to the available recordings.
Remember - if you don't use correct capitalisation, punctuation and spacing, anything you write will be incorrect.
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19-Jan-2021, 13:11 #4
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Re: correct pronunciation of 'often'
Remember also that dictionaries can answer questions like this.
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19-Jan-2021, 14:19 #5
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Re: correct pronunciation of 'often'
That's true of paper dictionaries if you can read phonetic symbols. Some online dictionaries have a recording you can listen to.
Originally Posted by jutfrank
Remember - if you don't use correct capitalisation, punctuation and spacing, anything you write will be incorrect.
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20-Jan-2021, 06:23 #6
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Re: correct pronunciation of 'often'
Thanks to all of you!
But isn't it "illiterate" to pronounce \ȯf-tən\ according to https://www.merriam-webster.com/word...ally%20silent.? That was the question my teacher and I fought a lot
(I think it's okay actually).
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20-Jan-2021, 06:28 #7
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Re: correct pronunciation of 'often'
Some pronounce it one way. Some pronounce it the other way. (It is, apparently, a regional thing.) Originally Posted by Morgan
Thanks to all of you!
But isn't it "illiterate" to pronounce \ȯf-tən\ according to https://www.merriam-webster.com/word...ally%20silent.? That was the question my teacher and I debated a lot. (I think it's okay actually).Not a professional teacher
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20-Jan-2021, 08:55 #8
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Re: correct pronunciation of 'often'
Both "offen" and "often" are used by native speakers all over the world. Feel free to show your teacher this thread to confirm that. There is nothing "illiterate" (I wonder if you meant "uneducated") about pronouncing it without a sounded "t".
Remember - if you don't use correct capitalisation, punctuation and spacing, anything you write will be incorrect.
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20-Jan-2021, 10:23 #9
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Re: correct pronunciation of 'often'
Merriam-Webster doesn't say that pronunciation is illiterate. It quotes a 1934 dictionary that notes that some people disparaged the pronunciation as illiterate but doesn't itself disapprove of it. Originally Posted by Morgan
Thanks to all of you!
But isn't it "illiterate" to pronounce \ȯf-tən\ according to https://www.merriam-webster.com/word...ally%20silent.? That was the question my teacher and I fought a lot (I think it's okay actually).I am not a teacher.
