How do you pronounce "Often", ˈȯ-fən or ˈȯf-tən?
There’s a \t\ in "often" but do you pronounce the \t\ or not?
Some educated speakers certainly do use the pronunciation with the \t\, but educated speakers consider it unacceptable.
Currently the correct way is ˈȯ-fən.
There’s a \t\ in often, but how often do you hear it? As you might guess, the \t\ was pronounced in the past, when the word began as a variant of oft (also spelled ofte in Middle English), which was the more common form until the 1500s.
Oft is now archaic for most of the senses of often, but is still used in compound adjectives like oft-repeated and oft-quoted. Ofttimes and oftentimes both carry that archaic flavor but are still in active use.
After the -en suffix was added to ¬oft, the \t\ fell away in pronunciation, but remained in the spelling.
Some educated speakers certainly do use the pronunciation with the \t\, but educated speakers consider it unacceptable.
Currently the correct way is ˈȯ-fən.
There’s a \t\ in often, but how often do you hear it? As you might guess, the \t\ was pronounced in the past, when the word began as a variant of oft (also spelled ofte in Middle English), which was the more common form until the 1500s.
Oft is now archaic for most of the senses of often, but is still used in compound adjectives like oft-repeated and oft-quoted. Ofttimes and oftentimes both carry that archaic flavor but are still in active use.
After the -en suffix was added to ¬oft, the \t\ fell away in pronunciation, but remained in the spelling.
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why are your "e's" upside down?0
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I hear off-en a lot, so I always assume that’s correct. I’m guilty of interchanging though.0
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I pronounce the t. What about the word 'mountain'? Are you consistent with your silent t's?0
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WorkerDrone83 wrote: »I pronounce the t. What about the word 'mountain'? Are you consistent with your silent t's?
Similarly, the medial \t\ in words like soften, hasten, and fasten was originally pronounced, as the -en was added to base words that were recognizable (soft, haste, fast). Listen is a bit different; although the archaic verb list exists, listen comes from the Middle English listnen, and evidence is that \t\ after \s\ and before \n\ was not pronounced.0 -
I pronounce with the T as well.
Now, my co-worker pronounces neighbor as neigh-vor. Drives me crazy. How do you pronounce neighbor?0 -
Me too. Because it’s the right way.2 -
WorkerDrone83 wrote: »I pronounce the t. What about the word 'mountain'? Are you consistent with your silent t's?
I pronounce it ‘moun-n’. Because it’s the right way.1 -
SomebodyWakeUpHIcks wrote: »why are your "e's" upside down?
Glad you asked.
That spelling has to do with the International Phonetic Alphabet used by the dictionary as a pronunciation guide for each word.
Here is a quick outline to help you understand how the International Phonetic Alphabet works:- Consonants: Consonants are all of the letters that are not vowels. The English language might have 21 consonants, but there are less consonant sounds. Letters like c and k, and c and s can have the same sound depending on where they are in the word. Other sounds are a combination of consonants, like ch and sh. These make different sounds too. There are not that many consonant symbols to learn, and they are mostly easy to understand—so that is a relief!
- Vowels: The vowels in the English language are a, e, i, o, u and sometimes y. Vowels can be combined with other letters, and each other, to create new sounds. There are a few different ways of pronouncing each vowel, and a symbol for each of those pronunciations.
- Diphthongs: Even if you have heard of vowels and consonants, you probably have never heard this word! Diphthongs are the sounds made by two vowels put together. Sometimes this is just one sound, like the oo sound. Other times the sound starts in one vowels and moves into the next, like the oa in soak.
- Syllables: Along with pronunciation guides for the letters, dictionaries break up words into syllables. These make it easier to spell and speak the word, since they turn one word in a few easy to say parts.
- Stresses: Words in the English language uses stresses. Where you put the stress is important to pronouncing the word right, and can even change the meaning of the word. For example, “when you addRESS the Internet, do not give out your ADDress!”. These two differently stressed versions of address mean two different things, just because of the stress! Dictionary guides show you where the stress goes, and they let you know when a different stress will change the meaning of the word.
- Advanced Sounds: Linguists define vowels as sounds made without placing anything in the way (like your tongue or teeth). Syllables are also created around them—you can’t have too many voiced (non-silent) consonants without a vowel in between, or it is impossible to read. Consonants, on the other hand, are sounds made by partially blocking your breath when you speak. Some sounds, like p, b and g, are actually made by completely stopping your breath! (In case you are wondering, these are called plosives).
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RunHardBeStrong wrote: »I pronounce with the T as well.
Now, my co-worker pronounces neighbor as neigh-vor. Drives me crazy. How do you pronounce neighbor?
"nay-ber." But I used to pronounce 'espresso' as... expresto. Not a silent t. jk1 -
WorkerDrone83 wrote: »RunHardBeStrong wrote: »I pronounce with the T as well.
Now, my co-worker pronounces neighbor as neigh-vor. Drives me crazy. How do you pronounce neighbor?
"nay-ber." But I used to pronounce 'espresso' as... expresto. jk
lol Expressto does exist but you aren't getting coffee...
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I pronounce the T...I also pronounce the T's in Mitten and get teased often0
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RunHardBeStrong wrote: »I pronounce with the T as well.
Now, my co-worker pronounces neighbor as neigh-vor. Drives me crazy. How do you pronounce neighbor?
He or She should be fired. Ain't nobody got time for that craziness.1 -
RunHardBeStrong wrote: »I pronounce with the T as well.
Now, my co-worker pronounces neighbor as neigh-vor. Drives me crazy. How do you pronounce neighbor?
He or She should be fired. Ain't nobody got time for that craziness.
Bwahahaha! Well you do have that right!
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TeacupsAndToning wrote: »"ȯf-tən," because I'm not a monster.
That pronunciation is slang according to the dictionary.1 -
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TeacupsAndToning wrote: »TeacupsAndToning wrote: »"ȯf-tən," because I'm not a monster.
That pronunciation is slang according to the dictionary.
*kitten* the dictionary
But that's where I get all my words from.1 -
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What about Martin? Is the T silent?
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SomebodyWakeUpHIcks wrote: »why are your "e's" upside down?
Glad you asked.
That spelling has to do with the International Phonetic Alphabet used by the dictionary as a pronunciation guide for each word.
Here is a quick outline to help you understand how the International Phonetic Alphabet works:- Consonants: Consonants are all of the letters that are not vowels. The English language might have 21 consonants, but there are less consonant sounds. Letters like c and k, and c and s can have the same sound depending on where they are in the word. Other sounds are a combination of consonants, like ch and sh. These make different sounds too. There are not that many consonant symbols to learn, and they are mostly easy to understand—so that is a relief!
- Vowels: The vowels in the English language are a, e, i, o, u and sometimes y. Vowels can be combined with other letters, and each other, to create new sounds. There are a few different ways of pronouncing each vowel, and a symbol for each of those pronunciations.
- Diphthongs: Even if you have heard of vowels and consonants, you probably have never heard this word! Diphthongs are the sounds made by two vowels put together. Sometimes this is just one sound, like the oo sound. Other times the sound starts in one vowels and moves into the next, like the oa in soak.
- Syllables: Along with pronunciation guides for the letters, dictionaries break up words into syllables. These make it easier to spell and speak the word, since they turn one word in a few easy to say parts.
- Stresses: Words in the English language uses stresses. Where you put the stress is important to pronouncing the word right, and can even change the meaning of the word. For example, “when you addRESS the Internet, do not give out your ADDress!”. These two differently stressed versions of address mean two different things, just because of the stress! Dictionary guides show you where the stress goes, and they let you know when a different stress will change the meaning of the word.
- Advanced Sounds: Linguists define vowels as sounds made without placing anything in the way (like your tongue or teeth). Syllables are also created around them—you can’t have too many voiced (non-silent) consonants without a vowel in between, or it is impossible to read. Consonants, on the other hand, are sounds made by partially blocking your breath when you speak. Some sounds, like p, b and g, are actually made by completely stopping your breath! (In case you are wondering, these are called plosives).
Yes but why are they upside down?1 -
beingmore1 wrote: »Its pronounced Offen. Anything else is uncivilized. Just like q-pon and pill-o. Anyone who says coo-pon or pell-o.....is wrong. Like go do ten pushups wrong.
I say "coo-pon" 1 -
It's OFTEN the T is not silent. Thanks - The Englishman which England by the way is where the correct English dictionaries are from.Cambridge English Dictionary wrote:often
adverb UK /ˈɒf.ən/ /ˈɒf.tən/ US /ˈɑːf.ən/ /ˈɑːf.tən/
A1 many times:
I often see him in the garden.
How often do you wash your hair?
I don't often drink beer.
It's not often that you meet someone who you're instantly attracted to.
I don't see my parents as often as I'd like to.
Christmas is often mild in this country.
Synonym
frequently
More examples
I don't cook meat very often.
It's often quicker to travel across country and avoid the major roads altogether.
She wrote less and less often, and eventually she stopped altogether.
They had a passionate and often stormy relationship.
I often get hungry towards the middle of the morning.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Grammar
Often
Often is an adverb meaning ‘many times on different occasions’. Like many other short adverbs, we use it in front position, in mid position (between the subject and the main verb, or after the modal verb or first auxiliary verb, or after be as a main verb) or in end position: …
Idiom(s)
more often than not
(Definition of “often” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)Oxford English Dictionary wrote:Definition of often in English:
often
Pronunciation /ˈɒf(ə)n//ˈɒft(ə)n/
ADVERB
1Frequently; many times.
‘he often goes for long walks by himself’
‘how often do you have your hair cut?’
More example sentencesSynonyms
1.1 In many instances.
‘vocabulary often reflects social standing’
More example sentences
Phrases
as often as not
Quite frequently or commonly.
‘I had two homes really, because as often as not I was down at her house’
More example sentencesSynonyms
more often than not
Usually.
‘food is scarce and more often than not they go hungry’
More example sentencesSynonyms
Origin
Middle English: extended form of oft, probably influenced by selden ‘seldom’. Early examples appear to be northern English; the word became general in the 16th century.
Pronunciation
often/ˈɒf(ə)n//ˈɒft(ə)n/
Fudge the phonetics of offen - we see that as the slang in the UK.
The Queen appears to say awffen though so she's just screwed my entire argument... I blame her age on her mispronunciation.1 -
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"Dazzler21 wrote:
The Queen appears to say awffen though so she's just screwed my entire argument... I blame her age on her mispronunciation.
E. J. Dobson’s authoritative work English Pronunciation 1500-1700 notes that Queen Elizabeth herself did not pronounce the \t\, but that phonetically spelled lists made in the 17th century indicate that “the pronunciation without [t] seems to have been avoided in careful speech.”0 -
Often people hasten to pounce the 't', but really it is silent to soften the sound. You can listen to many words being pronounced without it. This is an epsitle to make the grammar police glisten and moisten while they nestle up in their castles and pestle those using the hard 't'.3
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Often is pronounced with the t. Thank you. 2
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Often people hasten to pounce the 't', but really it is silent to soften the sound. You can listen to many words being pronounced without it. This is an epsitle to make the grammar police glisten and moisten while they nestle up in their castles and pestle those using the hard 't'.
Nope you have 's' before 't' thus changing the t's sound... I may have made that up but it appears true.0
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