# How do you pronounce "often?" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 30, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866 "2010-04-30T14:33:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866/61 "2010-05-01T17:41:48Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > :rolleyes: I hope you realize I was kidding 🙂 I find it amusing when people provide proof for something that people do, when the people that do it clearly don’t actually do it for the reasons given in the proof. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866/62 "2010-05-01T21:47:01Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The “correct” (i.e., original) pronunciation is “offen.” For some reason, scribes added the “t” (possibly misreading “offen”) and people began to pronounce it the way it was misspelled. According to [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com): 1300–50; ME oftin, var. before vowels of ofte oft I voted for "OFF-en, but sometimes I kind of pronounce the ‘t’ as well (more as a ‘d’, as others have said). I live in WV now, but grew up in a suburb of Baltimore, MD. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866/63 "2010-05-01T21:51:37Z")
Off-ten. I’ve never thought about it before, but yeah, saying it out loud I hear it both ways a lot. When I say it you can definitely hear the T though. ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866/64 "2010-05-01T22:23:55Z")
Offin. I’m from Boston. My wife says offten. She’s from Ireland. I have told her that she’s saying it wrong, but she can’t catch herself before saying it and continues to say it incorrectly. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866/65 "2010-05-01T22:40:37Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I’m a Brit and there’s no way I’d say “in” on the end. I’d use a schwa, but hardly any of it - “OFF-ən” but more like “OFFn”. What he said. What kind of accent puts an “in” on the end? 😕 I just tried saying “off-in” and it makes me sound South African. Oh, and I’m in Hampshire, England. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866/66 "2010-05-01T22:46:50Z")
> [@Gus\_Gusterson](#): > > Offin. I’m from Boston. My wife says offten. She’s from Ireland. I have told her that she’s saying it wrong, but she can’t catch herself before saying it and continues to say it incorrectly. Saying with the “t” is not incorrect. Often was pronounced with a t -sound until the 17th century, when a pronunciation without the  /t/ Show Spelled[t] Show IPA came to predominate in the speech of the educated, in both North America and Great Britain, and the earlier pronunciation fell into disfavor. Common use of a spelling pronunciation has since restored the  /t/[t] for many speakers, and today  /ˈɔfən/[aw-fuhn] and  /ˈɔftən/[awf-tuhn] [or  /ˈɒfən/[of-uhn] and  /ˈɒftən/[of-tuhn]] exist side by side. Although it is still sometimes criticized, often with a /t/[t] is now so widely heard from educated speakers that it has become fully standard once again. ---
**Author:** ![JohnnyMac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@JohnnyMac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnyMac)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866/67 "2010-05-01T22:52:25Z")
I had to think about it - but…“offin”. My accent’s some muddled mix of UK and Kiwi. ETA: Actually, looking at the posts that got in before mine - yeah, that “in” is a schwa. ---
**Author:** ![FrancisCastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b4bc9f/32.png) [@FrancisCastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrancisCastle)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866/68 "2010-05-02T00:18:42Z")
Just got done saying it a bunch of times out loud…good thing no one’s around! lol ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866/69 "2010-05-02T01:26:30Z")
I only ever say it without the /t/. Hearing the /t/ pronounced in it always sounds bizarre to me. It wasn’t until a couple years ago I even became aware of its prevalence, and started [a thread about it](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=445596). It’s what linguists call a “spelling pronunciation.” Historically, there have been a lot of spelling pronunciations that have taken over from the “traditional” pronunciations. I blame the rise of widespread or universal literacy. There are so many words we pronounce as spelled nowadays, we’re not even aware that when the spelling pronunciation first appeared it was considered an error. For example, I was astonished to learn that pronouncing the /l/ in _almond_ was until recently considered “incorrect.” It had never occurred to me that it was possible to say it without the /l/. Whether the /t/ in _often_ will successfully establish itself in standard English is still too soon to say. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866/70 "2010-05-02T01:36:39Z")
Do remember that pretty much every silent consonant was pronounced at one time, so we’re really shifting back to pronouncing them. English spelling was non standardized in the first place, and people spelled words the way they sounded. (Island is one exception I know of. It got a back-formation from a spurious etymology.) ---
**Author:** ![Ludy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866/71 "2010-05-02T01:59:38Z")
With a T Western Canada ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866/72 "2010-05-02T02:17:15Z")
No T. Grew up in mid-Michigan and have lived in central Ohio most of my adult life. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866/73 "2010-05-02T03:07:54Z")
OFFten VA ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866/74 "2010-05-02T03:14:20Z")
No T in Northern Indiana. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866/75 "2010-05-02T03:17:50Z")
Both, but OFF-IN much more …ummm…often. Grew up in Northwestern Illinois, have lived in the Chicago suburbs for 9 years. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866/76 "2010-05-06T04:57:26Z")
Off-in (no T). I was in St. Louis, MO until age 8, then almost entirely in southern CA. I know few people who actually say the T, and it bugs me when I hear it. Stop it!! ---
**Author:** ![Kyrie\_Eleison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kyrie_eleison/32/7682_2.png) [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866/77 "2010-05-06T05:52:55Z")
Off-en. And I’m from everywhere, man. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866/78 "2010-05-06T06:26:55Z")
OFFn, always. NYC, NYS. ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866/79 "2010-05-06T06:43:04Z")
> [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](#): > > Off-tin for more formal speech, or when used as a one word answer. > Off-in when I’m more casual or speaking fast. This. Voted Off-in because I use it more. I’m from Michigan. ---
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866/80 "2010-05-06T08:08:59Z")
Here’s me saying it: [Off-en](http://soundkey.com/key=6vwlvh) Currently in California, but I’ve lived everywhere. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-often/537866.md?page=5)