If you’ve been following along here for any amount of time, you’ve probably noticed I like words. I’ve written many LSNED posts about words, where they come from, and what they really mean. I’m also rather par-tic-u-lar about my e-nun-ci-ation, so it came as quite a shock to discover I’ve been making an error in that department. Often.
Often, which I’ve always taken care to pronounce of-ten, should in fact be said “offen”. Much like the smooth and gentle “soften”, lacking any sort of sharp cornered sounds. That’s the way it was deemed to be in the 1600s, and was, until that pesky literacy movement kicked in. Once the people learned to read, they looked at the word often and began saying it like it was written, emphasizing the T. It’s become so prevalent that many dictionaries give a blessing to both versions, but as shown in the whole “aluminium” hubbub, I personally like to stick to the roots.
So I’m embarking on an uphill battle against my own habits to “soften the often”. It will be hard, but things worth doing often are. Dangit! …OFFEN are.
