Often or often?

"I am going to the movies."

To you emphasise the g?

Neither way is wrong; The 't' isn't silent when unvoiced, it's a glottal stop.

The placement of glottal stops is a matter of accent and regional diction.

Look at it this way: When was the last time you heard a Scotsman pronounce the letter "t" at all? That's right, never. I think there's an accent that doesn't allow the use of a glottal stop ever, but I can't remember which it is. I'd say Oxford, but I have an eerie feeling I've heard the Queen use a glottal stop.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Flambard D'Quinceteth

To you emphasise the g?

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To you, Lynx? :greenie:

Often is not pronounced at all. The whole word is silent.

Point of interest: glottal is one of the tugliest words in the tEnglish language.

EDIT: Oh god, the t's are invadting! :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Flambard D'Quinceteth

Point of interest: glottal is one of the tugliest words in the tEnglish language.

EDIT: Oh god, the t's are invadting! :(

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You mus' ha' almos' gone bonkers livin' in Manches'er for any length o' time.

Not that I disagree about Mancunian accents sounding like utter trout.

Don't get mte wrong, I glottal stop like a right scumtbag. Not as much as I used to, after having lived with posh people for three years. But bow and boat still sound very similar in my accent. xD

it depends how much i've had to drink. :aimsun:

I think I use both pronunciations of often, so I may say it with a 't' or without the 't' without thinking about it.

how to pronounce 'often' - YouTube

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Flambard D'Quinceteth

I think TB nailing her flag to the not silent t side makes it clear that the t is silent.

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Perhaps... if your saying something like Oftenberg...

Besides, my phase of stressing "proper English" has passed. The British are blowhards.

Is the "h" silent in what, when, where? Do you pronounce them "hWat" "hWen" "hWere?" hWy isn't it spelled that way?

Also do you know what spelt is?

"ɒfn" and "ɔːfən" are the most common ways British and American people pronounce "often", respectively. I'd say you're only actually pronouncing it wrong if you pronounced the "e" as "eh" rather than "uh".

I have always pronounced the "t". xD

I have sat here repeating the word aloud for a few minutes and I honestly cannot decide.

I don't believe in silent letters.

If the letter is there, then it shouldn't be silent otherwise, don't put it there.

So it's HERB not ERB and it's OFTEN not OFEN. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Pretty sure the rest of the world pronounces the H in Herb anyway