quest for info/suggestions. re: dialects

[Alexey I. Fuchs]

> source of the absent 'c'?  BTW, I have come, after some time, to realize
> that for many native speakers the 't' in 'often' IS natural and not a
> bookish affectation, so I'm much more cautious now about proclaiming it
> artificial.
>

I am not a native English speaker, and I have always been taught not to
pronounce the "t" in "often." However, in England I heard well-educated
people of respectful age pronouncing it very distinctly. They said it was
a "midland pronouncation," along with intensive audible "h" in "who" or
"how" (even similar to russian "x", or spanish "g" between two vowels).

                                                        Alexey