# "Often" - pronounced with or without the t? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 27, 2007, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868 "2007-11-27T02:42:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [November 27, 2007, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868/21 "2007-11-27T06:23:12Z")
OK, I guess it doesn’t track generation-wise after all. Maybe it was just a coincidence that I came across two twenty-somethings who use the spelling pronunciation. I reached an understanding with them that they’ll say it their way and I’ll say it my way. For my part, it always seems strange to me that the L in almond isn’t supposed to be pronounced. I’ve got my own share of spelling pronunciations. I gather that the T in often is heard more in British pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868/22 "2007-11-27T10:50:27Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] “When you said “orphan”, did you mean “orphan”, a person who has lost his parents, or “often”, frequently?” — Gilbert [/QUOTE] “Exactly - You said ‘often’, ‘frequently’, only once!” > [@Johanna](#): > > For my part, it always seems strange to me that the L in almond isn’t supposed to be pronounced. I’ve got my own share of spelling pronunciations. I gather that the T in often is heard more in British pronunciation. I’d always pronounce it (but I might not if I were an errant member of the House of Lords), and I also pronounce the L in almond. I’d never pronounce the T in soften, but that’s no guide on how to pronounce often - English doesn’t work like that, and there’s no etymology in common between the two words. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868/23 "2007-11-27T10:59:10Z")
I grew up on the west coast of the US and I pronounce the t. I teach my students to pronounce the t, too. (I teach EFL.) I figure the spelling in English is fucked up enough that when there’s a choice, I teach them to pronounce things phonetically. Just one less word that they have to remember is pronounced differently from the spelling. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868/24 "2007-11-27T12:32:19Z")
Been beaten to the G&S stuff, I see… “Offen” Late 30s, Sydney. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868/25 "2007-11-27T14:10:53Z")
Twenty-nine, from the southern United States, offen. You don’t want to hear me say “comfortable,” though. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868/26 "2007-11-27T14:15:42Z")
49, Canadian. I leave out the ‘t’. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868/27 "2007-11-27T14:39:08Z")
I pronounce the ‘t’, and I have a pretty thick southern accent. **Telperien** , “comfortable” only has three syllables around here. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868/28 "2007-11-27T14:55:32Z")
Here’s what the OED has to say: Often [offen] …the pronunciation [of-ten], which is not recognized in the dictionaries, is now frequent in the south of England, and is often used in singing. (I don’t know how to do IPA, so I’ve simplified the phonetic spelling.) As a singer, I’ll say that I hate it when singers say [of-ten] because it just strikes me as wrong, and an unnecessary extra consonant that gets in the way. I imagine that singing it [of-ten] is a Britishism; I certainly would never expect it over here. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868/29 "2007-11-27T14:59:57Z")
[QUOTE=Eleanor of Aquitaine] I pronounce the ‘t’, and I have a pretty thick southern accent. **Telperien** , “comfortable” only has three syllables around here. [/QUOTE] That’s how I say it unless I concentrate. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868/30 "2007-11-27T15:07:35Z")
39 from SW lower Michigan. I pronounce it without the ‘t’ sound. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868/31 "2007-11-27T15:23:06Z")
American (Michigan) 51. I was always taught that pronouncing the “t” was incorrect and a sign of a poor education. Never have, never will pronounce that “t”. > [@](#): > > But on the other hand, I’ve yet to hear calf with pronounced “F.” ??? I assume you meant “L”. ---
**Author:** ![nikonikosuru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@nikonikosuru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikonikosuru)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868/32 "2007-11-27T15:36:55Z")
21, F, Michigander. I pronounce it with the T. I was originally surprised that I’m in the minority, but then again I’ve been told by others that I have “interesting” speaking habits. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868/33 "2007-11-27T15:48:09Z")
[QUOTE=bibliophage] But on the other hand, I’ve yet to hear calf with pronounced “F.” [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=BobLibDem] ??? I assume you meant “L”. [/QUOTE] That one confused me too. 1. From Maine. No “t” in often. It bugs me nearly as much as “accrost” and “heighth.” ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868/34 "2007-11-27T15:59:09Z")
33, Long Island NY It’s more a matter of conventional vs formal speech for me. In normal conversation the T fades out, but if I were reading a poem out loud or something I might pronounce the T. ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868/35 "2007-11-27T16:10:23Z")
Offen. 26, grew up in Massachusetts. ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868/36 "2007-11-27T16:54:53Z")
35, white female grew up in Tennessee. This is funny, because it is one of the few words that I pronounce both ways. There is no rhyme or reason to it, I just notice that sometimes I say the “t” others I don’t. Due to having a very AR great-grand aunt who loathed badly pronounced words, I make a point of pronouncing the “wh” in words like “who, what, when, where and why” – it is never just “w.” ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868/37 "2007-11-27T18:19:02Z")
25, white, California- offen. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868/38 "2007-11-27T18:21:06Z")
Northeast US, no T. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868/39 "2007-11-27T18:58:45Z")
I honestly don’t know. I think I pronounce the T. But I’m not sure. It’s like breathing. When you think about doing it, it ceases to be natural. I’d have to catch myself off-guard somehow. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868/40 "2007-11-27T20:43:51Z")
[QUOTE=BiblioCat] 43, Mid-Atlantic US. Offen. No ‘t’. [/QUOTE] Ten years older, but same answer otherwise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/often-pronounced-with-or-without-the-t/427868.md?page=3)