okay, this is the note on pronunciation of often from my Random House unabridged:
Quote:
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Often was pronounced with a t-sound until the 17th century, when a pronunciation without the 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) for many speakers, and today [both] exist side by side. Although it is still sometimes criticized, often with a (t) is now so widely heard from educated speakers that it has become fully standard once again.
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