Date: Sun, 30 Nov 1997 20:56:33 -0000

From: Muhammed Suleiman xtr08[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]DIAL.PIPEX.COM

Subject: Re: of(t)en and "is all"



Dear Kendra,



I live in the UK, and I can tell you that the pronunciation without t is

considered to be the 'better' and 'standard' one, there is a tendency,

however, for the t to come back into vogue, probably under the influence

of the spelling. The t -pronunciation is however still normal in the

northern dialects.



Regards,



Dr M. Suleiman



Also, did anybody out there grow up pronouncing the "t" in often? I've

only ever heard it done in poetry. Is the t-lessness an Americanism,

or

a regionalism?



Kendra Banks Perry