Often was pronounced with a t -sound until the 17th century, when a pronunciation without the

[t] /t/ came to predominate in the speech of the educated, in both North America and Great Britain, and the earlier pronunciation fell into disfavor. Common use of a spelling pronunciation has since restored the

[t] /t/ for many speakers, and today

[aw-fuhn] /ˈɔ fən/ and

[awf-tuhn] /ˈɔf tən/ [or

[of-uhn] /ˈɒf ən/ and

[of-tuhn] /ˈɒf tən/ ] exist side by side. Although it is still sometimes criticized, often with a [t] /t/ is now so widely heard from educated speakers that it has become fully standard once again.

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