How prevalent is the silent "t"

[James Harbeck]

>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.

I often pronounce it, but more often not... Kind of often on, as it
were. (Not a real eggcorn here, just a joke.)

Loss of the [t] after [n] is pretty common in these parts too. We
tend to lose or reduce that phoneme wherever we find it, except
initially. But it's not universal, and any given person probably
won't do it every time with any given word. It's still part of the
citation form of the words, naturally.

James Harbeck.

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