How do you pronounce "Often", ˈȯ-fən or ˈȯf-tən?

2

Replies

  • jaci66
    jaci66 Posts: 139 Member
    why are your "e's" upside down?

    The vowel symbol named "schwa", written with an upside-down letter e -- like this: [ə] -- is generally used in transcribing English to represent an unstressed and reduced vowel, as in the last syllable of data, the first syllable of connect, or the middle syllable of calico. http://www.ling.upenn.edu/courses/Fall_2011/ling001/English.html
  • Just_J_Now
    Just_J_Now Posts: 9,551 Member
    Dazzler21 wrote: »
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    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.

    Nope soften
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    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'.

    I'm saying that damn "t" with pride

    Ahhh, the penchant for improper rapport is like ballet done by break dancers.
  • Dazzler21
    Dazzler21 Posts: 1,249 Member
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    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'.

    I'm saying that damn "t" with pride

    I stand with you. My T must be heard ofTen.

    Why if they plan to silence our T in often do they not pick on the middle T's in:

    Potato

    button

    guitar

    kitten

    mittens

    eighteen

    rotten

    hotel

    cotton

    motel

    beauty

    better

    city

    butter

    little

    butterfly

    tomato

    biting

    Saturday

    water
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
    OfFred
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    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'.

    I'm saying that damn "t" with pride

    Ahhh, the penchant for improper rapport is like ballet done by break dancers.

    ShuT iT.

    Didn't mean to rustle your feathers with the bustle about silent 't'. Maybe jostle your lingo a bit to align with what's proper.

    And no, that isn't aliGN with a Guh sound, but go for it.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    We could just wrestle about it.
  • Dazzler21
    Dazzler21 Posts: 1,249 Member
    Just_J_Now wrote: »
    Dazzler21 wrote: »
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    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.

    Nope soften

    Don't come at me like that... It's the bloody F isn't it masquerading as an s mid word.... Which may overrule my argument.
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  • Sunna_W
    Sunna_W Posts: 744 Member
    Often, with a hard "t" - but I am from Tidewater Virginia and my ancestors came to North Carolina / Virginia from England so we still pronounce words the same way we did back then. We also have a lot of Dutch influence so house (how-se) is pronounced "hoo-se" a lot and aunt (ant) is pronounced "awnt"... It's not about education as much as it is a dialect based upon where people are from....
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    From now on all of my "t"s will no only be silen bu compleely omied

    Tom Petty beat you to it.

    "Is alrigh if you luv meh,
    Iz alrigh if you don.
    I'm na afraid of you runn'in away honay,
    I geh the feelin' you wown..."

    https://youtu.be/LJQQYUjPUNQ

  • SomebodyWakeUpHIcks
    SomebodyWakeUpHIcks Posts: 3,836 Member
    I only pronounce the "t" if the word is the last word in my sentence.

    You make my brain hurt.
  • 81Katz
    81Katz Posts: 7,074 Member
    I say Off-en.
    Que-pon
    Wiss-ull (Not whist-ull, for example)
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  • cee134
    cee134 Posts: 33,711 Member
    With the rise of public education and people’s awareness of spelling in the 19th century, according to the dictionary, sounds that had become silent were sometimes restored. This is what happened with the “t” in “often.”

    You might be interested in knowing that “often” was originally just “oft,” and “oft” was commonly used as a prefix in word combinations that are archaic and unrecognizable today.

    Even a word like ‘oftentimes,” which appears in modern dictionaries, seems dated and has musty, quaint overtones. It’s also a term that drives people crazy because of its apparent redundancy. But in fact, the words “oftentime,” “oftentimes,” and “oftime” date back to the early 1400s, and “ofttimes” was first recorded in the 1300s, so they have a venerable history.
  • BishopWankapin
    BishopWankapin Posts: 276 Member
    I say it with a d but
    giphy.gif
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    edited November 2017
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    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'.

    I'm saying that damn "t" with pride

    Ahhh, the penchant for improper rapport is like ballet done by break dancers.

    ShuT iT.

    Didn't mean to rustle your feathers with the bustle about silent 't'. Maybe jostle your lingo a bit to align with what's proper.

    And no, that isn't aliGN with a Guh sound, but go for it.

    Lol oh my god, I want to ThroTTle you

    Is that a "T" back bikini, btw?

    *wistles :D
  • LittleHearseDriver
    LittleHearseDriver Posts: 2,677 Member
    It depends on my mood and who I'm around.
  • Dazzler21
    Dazzler21 Posts: 1,249 Member
    From now on all of my "t"s will no only be silen bu compleely omied

    is his in proes o he removal of the sound of the leer ' '
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  • Dazzler21
    Dazzler21 Posts: 1,249 Member
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    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'.

    I'm saying that damn "t" with pride

    Ahhh, the penchant for improper rapport is like ballet done by break dancers.

    ShuT iT.

    Didn't mean to rustle your feathers with the bustle about silent 't'. Maybe jostle your lingo a bit to align with what's proper.

    And no, that isn't aliGN with a Guh sound, but go for it.

    Lol oh my god, I want to ThroTTle you

    Is that a "T" back bikini, btw?

    *wistles :D

    *whistles
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    Dazzler21 wrote: »
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    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'.

    I'm saying that damn "t" with pride

    Ahhh, the penchant for improper rapport is like ballet done by break dancers.

    ShuT iT.

    Didn't mean to rustle your feathers with the bustle about silent 't'. Maybe jostle your lingo a bit to align with what's proper.

    And no, that isn't aliGN with a Guh sound, but go for it.

    Lol oh my god, I want to ThroTTle you

    Is that a "T" back bikini, btw?

    *wistles :D

    *whistles

    The 'w' was silent so I just omitted it.
    F English. Amiright?
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  • SomebodyWakeUpHIcks
    SomebodyWakeUpHIcks Posts: 3,836 Member
    @MeeseeksAndDestroy

    How do you say forte'?

    Like, "being knowledge in sports isn't my forte'"
  • denversillygoose
    denversillygoose Posts: 708 Member
    I pronounce the t because it makes it a prettier word. I really don't care if it's incorrect.
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  • Motorsheen
    Motorsheen Posts: 20,508 Member
    cee134 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).

    that's just silly.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    How do you say forte'?

    Same as I order mah beer.

    Give me a 40.





  • Dazzler21
    Dazzler21 Posts: 1,249 Member
    edited November 2017
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    Dazzler21 wrote: »
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    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'.

    I'm saying that damn "t" with pride

    Ahhh, the penchant for improper rapport is like ballet done by break dancers.

    ShuT iT.

    Didn't mean to rustle your feathers with the bustle about silent 't'. Maybe jostle your lingo a bit to align with what's proper.

    And no, that isn't aliGN with a Guh sound, but go for it.

    Lol oh my god, I want to ThroTTle you

    Is that a "T" back bikini, btw?

    *wistles :D

    *whistles

    The 'w' was silent so I just omitted it.
    F English. Amiright?

    You mean the 'h' was silent... which is correctly pronounced 'aitch' in English not the oft heard 'haitch' in the states.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    Timshel_ wrote: »
    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'.

    I'm saying that damn "t" with pride

    Ahhh, the penchant for improper rapport is like ballet done by break dancers.

    ShuT iT.

    Didn't mean to rustle your feathers with the bustle about silent 't'. Maybe jostle your lingo a bit to align with what's proper.

    And no, that isn't aliGN with a Guh sound, but go for it.

    Lol oh my god, I want to ThroTTle you

    Is that a "T" back bikini, btw?

    *wistles :D

    52q8w0dfj99o.gif

    This is the second time you've made me use this gif.

    We should just FiGHT
    That's for FFFF Eye Gah Hu Tee for the over-articulators.