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AIQ
AIQ
3:49 AM
The pandemic, the hurricane, the riots ... my god ... I hope everyone is safe in the states ...
 
 
5 hours later…
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
9:12 AM
 
 
8 hours later…
Eddie Kal
Eddie Kal
5:16 PM
4
A: Why is the t in "often" silent?

WistfulIt's an example of medial cluster reduction. The t was once pronounced but in the 17th century, the t in some words was dropped whenever it was preceded by a fricative (/f/, /v/, /s/, /θ/ etc) and followed by a sonorant (/l/, /m/, /n/ etc). Examples: In 'often', the t is preceded by /f/ which is ...

@Wistful Great answer!
I once said to other mods, "I have a feeling Decapitated Soul will be another active and helpful contributor like @AIQ." Self-admiration time.
 
Wistful
Wistful
5:38 PM
@EddieKal, Thanks. :)
(Not great though....)
I had a book about Historical sound changes but I can't seem to find it in my books collection
I have about 200+ books and it's difficult to find it so I can't explain it further.
 
Eddie Kal
Eddie Kal
@Wistful Your answer is so far the only one that gives an explanation for why those words are pronounced the way they are now.
@Wistful Adding sources would make this already great answer even greater.
 
Wistful
Wistful
:P Still searching for that book..... it's a very detailed book and covers almost all aspects of historical sound changes
 
 
2 hours later…
Wistful
Wistful
7:20 PM
Why is @AIQ inactive?
 
Eddie Kal
Eddie Kal
7:33 PM
@Wistful Busy with job hunting I guess.
 
Wistful
Wistful
7:57 PM
Ah well.
 

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