How prevalent is the silent "t"

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On Jun 8, 2007, at 7:36 AM, Alison Murie wrote:

>> I just want to add the word "often" to the question. My elementary-
>> school
>> teachers always insisted the "t" in "often" was silent, but many
>> people
>> pronounce it. I don't know that it's a regional difference, since
>> my son
>> pronounces the "t" while my wife and I don't, and I never noticed a
>> prevalence for one or the other, at least around Boston.
>>
>> Marc Sacks
> ~~~~~~~~~~
> Not to mention _soften, hasten, listen, fasten,chasten,moisten_,
> just to
> those that pop into my mind with a minute's reflection.

yes, that was the historical change: t / {f, s} __ syllabic-n was
"absorbed" into the n.  the reappearance of a t in "often" is usually
attributed to spelling pronunciation.

the occurrences of "silent t" that started this thread (in
"entertainment", "center", "international" etc.) are surely instances
of a very different phenomenon: intervocalic flapping, here producing
a nasalized flap instead of the oral flap in "Patterson", "sitter",
"iterate" etc.

arnold

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