Re: YAEPT (was Re: French)

----- Original Message ----
> From: Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...>
> To: CONLANG@listserv.brown.edu
> Sent: Wednesday, February 4, 2009 8:20:17 AM
> Subject: Re: YAEPT (was Re: French)
>
> I always pronounced the /t/ in "often" and figured those who didn't
> were just being lazy
ARTFL's listings
(http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?action=search&word=often&resource=Webster%27s&quicksearch=on)
have "of'n" in the 1828 edition and "of'ten" in the 1913 edition. So obviously
both are historically established. I had it impressed in my head by some
English teacher or other in public school that "of'ten" is said by people who
get confused by "oft" and that the <t> is definitely silent. Ironically, it may
have been the same teacher that excised the second /r/ from <sherbet> for me,
even though nearly everyone I know says "SURE-bert." At least in that case I've
gotten myself to stop wincing at "SURE-bert." (In that case, 1828's dictionary
gives us: "A drink composed of water, lemon juice and sugar, sometimes with
perfumed cakes dissolved in it, with an infusion of some drops of rose water."
Wow, has THAT one ever changed in less than 200 years!)

-- Paul