2010: Twenty Ten or Two Thousand & Ten?

**MetroMan** · 2010-Jan-01, 20:01

There seems to be a disagreement amongst people on how to pronounce the new year that just arrived.

Up until 1999 we called it Nineteen Ninety Nine, not One Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ninety Nine.

When the year 2000 came, calling it The Year Two Thousand sounded cool and futuristic and Twenty Zero, Zero didn't sound right.

After 2000, the "Two thousand" just stuck. Now that we're entering the "teens", pronouncing the year is going to get more complex.

Two Thousand and Ten: 4 words and 5 syllables
Twenty Ten: 2 words, 3 syllables

I think people will adopt the shorter version. What are you calling it?

**urbandreamer** · 2010-Jan-01, 21:05

20-tweens.

**oreoshack** · 2010-Jan-02, 05:23

nobody calls it two thousand and ten, everybody calls it twenty ten because of of the noteriety of the year twenty twelve(and the movie 2012).

anybody that calls it two thousand and ten should be shot.

**dt_toronto_geek** · 2010-Jan-02, 05:53

Two Thousand and Ten is correct, but given how we so often tend to shortcut our language or syllables whenever possible Twenty Ten is what people will say. Including myself.

**hbl33** · 2010-Jan-02, 13:44

None of the above.

I call it two-o'-ten (2-0-10), as it is simpler to say than either twenty-ten (sounds more like 4 syllables to me) or TWO THOUSAND AND TEN.

But yeah, twenty ten is obviously a better of the two in formal usage.

**MetroMan** · 2010-Jan-02, 14:23

Originally Posted by oreoshack

nobody calls it two thousand and ten, everybody calls it twenty ten because of of the noteriety of the year twenty twelve(and the movie 2012).

anybody that calls it two thousand and ten should be shot.

I've heard it all over the newscasts. Reporters on CityTV, CNN and NBC were calling it Two Thousand and Ten when the clock ticked to midnight.

Most of my friends and family are calling it like that too. I've called it Twenty Ten since last year but I do catch myself reading an article and saying Two Thousand and Ten sometimes. A decade old habit will die hard.

On UrbanToronto though, there seems to be a general consensus.

**Joe** · 2010-Jan-02, 22:04

Twenty-Ten.

1) It has less syllables than two-thousand-and-ten
2) People are lazy, so less syllables = good.

3) Just like in the 1900s, people will group the first two digits, and then the last two.... 1984 was nineteen-eighty-four... not one thousand, nine hundred and eighty four.

**Tuscani01** · 2010-Jan-03, 02:01

I will murder anyone who says O'ten

**gristle** · 2010-Jan-03, 02:39

O'ten

**cacruden** · 2010-Jan-03, 02:58

Maybe it is time to move to a new "era".

It is now they year 10.

**Urban Shocker** · 2010-Jan-03, 12:25

O'ten, often.

**Tuscani01** · 2010-Jan-03, 19:00

UT's member count has just decreased by 2 :P

**Joe** · 2010-Jan-03, 23:02

2-K-10? haha. just kidding.

**GenerationW** · 2010-Jan-04, 02:38

Because those silly Romans had no concept of zero (which gave us that great debate about whether the new millennium started in 2000 or 2001), I propose that 1 AD now becomes 0 BC and 2 AD becomes 0 AD, which would mean this year is really 2008.

Who's with me?

Anyone??

Bueller???