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In the British accent (Modern RP), the word "often" is pronounced as "ɒf.tən" with the "t" sound. What about words like "soften", "fasten", and "moisten"? Should I pronounce those words with the "t" sound in Modern RP?

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  • Cambridge and Macmillan dictionaries in their pronunciation recordings both have a generic educated southern English accent close to some forms of modern RP. Is this the sort of accent you want? Have you listened to the recordings? Have you looked up pronunciation values in other dictionaries?
    – Stuart F
    Commented Apr 28, 2023 at 11:28

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I suggest this is a matter of experience and - to some extent - opinion. It probably depends most on social or regional background of the speaker.

My experience in Britain is that “often” is variously heard with or without the “t” sound; it is sometimes heard with a short “o” and sometimes with the sound of “or”. None of these is exclusively “correct”; all are acceptable. The short “o” is probably more heard in the north of Britain.

In my experience the “t” in the other words is usually not heard, or is present only in vestigial and barely perceptibly form.

Others may have different social or regional backgrounds that give them another perspective on the question. Anyone who asserts that a particular pronunciation is “correct” is likely to be too influenced by their personal background.

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  • Since the OP has specifically inquired about the pronunciation in RP, I think there is a "correct" answer.
    – Kimbi
    Commented Apr 28, 2023 at 7:40
  • Is there any accent in which the t is pronounced in "soften", "fasten", and "moisten"?
    – Henry
    Commented Apr 28, 2023 at 7:48
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    None of the dictionaries I've checked suggest a /t/ in soften, fasten, or moisten. Often is given with both pronunciations in Cambridge and only without a /t/ in Macmillan and Collins. (I'd rather not use the term RP which covers a multitude of accents from the bizarrely affected to the "standard middle-class SE English" such as you'll find in dictionaries.)
    – Stuart F
    Commented Apr 28, 2023 at 11:31

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