Most Often Mispronounced Words
Written on August 22, 2007 – 3:59 pm | by gaulardcom |
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Now, I am not one to say that the English language makes sense and I really don’t want to come off like the Queen of England. I am not even saying that I am any good at what I say. All I am saying is that I hear a whole bunch of words being mispronounced from time to time. You may have even witnessed spelling mistakes in this blog. I do try to check over my spelling as much as I can, but sometimes I just don’t care. I mean really, who cares? Sometimes I feel like just throwing my hands up in the air and joining those who say, “Oh, you know what I meant.”
A big one is “often.” I always thought that the “t” is silent. Maybe I am wrong, or maybe the English say it differently, but even my ninth grade English teach said it incorrectly.
I found a great website that lays out the most mispronounced words. Here is what they say about “often” or what should really read, “offen…”
We have mastered the spelling of this word so well, its spelling influences the pronunciation. In fact, T drops out between F and N regularly in English (compare soften).
More times than not, I hear people say, “Oh, that happens often.” They say it with the “t” in often. Who can really blame them? I mean, if people want to hear that word with a silent “t” then why not take the damn “t” out of the word? Would that really be too much trouble? Hey, that’s a novel idea…say it like it’s spelled. I have another idea…why not just say the “t” with often? What harm would that be?
I think this English language needs a bit of cleaning up. What do you think?
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Tags: Grammar
