[lit-ideas] Re: Orphan Often: Observations & Queries
- From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 31 May 2004 08:38:31 EDT
In a message dated 5/30/2004 12:10:07 PM Eastern Standard Time,
straker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
I'm sure the precedents for Abbott & Costello go back before
G&S, but still, is there a *canonical* precedent for such
persistent comedic word-play?
#2 - of-ten
Some people somewhere say "off ten" and would be immune to
this particular loop. Is "off ten" the proper pronunciation
for any identifiable minority?
Don't know about a precedent for G&S, but here's a note from the OED.
Interestingly: Fowler (Mod. Eng. Usage) has the prouncication with medial
't' as hypercorrection, rather than (natural, unintentional) dialectal
variation
-- nonstandard if Fowler would have it as such.
Cheers,
JL
----
'often'
from the OED
"Several orthoepists of the 16th and 17th centuries, including Hart,
Bullokar, Robinson, Gil, and Hodges, give a pronunciation with medial -t-."
"Others, including Coles, Young, Strong, and Brown, record a pronunciation
without -t-, which, despite its use in the 16th cent. by Elizabeth I, seems to
have been avoided by careful speakers in the 17th cent. (see E. J. Dobson
Eng. Pronunc. 1500-1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II. §405)."
"Loss of t after f occurs in other cases; cf. _SOFTEN_
(http://0-dictionary.oed.com.csulib.ctstateu.edu/cgi/crossref?query_type=word&queryword=often&edition
=3e&first=1&max_to_show=10&single=1&sort_type=alpha&xrefed=REV&xrefword=soften
&ps=v.) v., and also _RAFT_
(http://0-dictionary.oed.com.csulib.ctstateu.edu/cgi/crossref?query_type=word&queryword=often&edition=3e&first=1&max_to_show=1
0&single=1&sort_type=alpha&xrefed=REV&xrefword=raft&ps=n.&homonym_no=1)
n.1, _HAFT_
(http://0-dictionary.oed.com.csulib.ctstateu.edu/cgi/crossref?query_type=word&queryword=often&edition=3e&first=1&max_to_show=10&single=1&sort_type=a
lpha&xrefed=REV&xrefword=haft&ps=n.&homonym_no=1) n.1, etc."
"The pronunciation with -t- has frequently been considered to be
hypercorrection in recent times: see for example H. W. Fowler Mod. Eng. Usage
(1926),
s.v."
"N.E.D. (1902) records the pronunciation (·f'n) /f()n/, /f()n/ (see
etymological note s.v. _O_
(http://0-dictionary.oed.com.csulib.ctstateu.edu/cgi/crossref?query_type=word&queryword=often&edition=3e&first=1&max_to_show=10&single=1
&sort_type=alpha&xrefed=REV&xrefword=O) ).]"
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