MetaChat - Curious:

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06 January 2010

Curious: Are we going to say "twenty-ten", or "two-thousand (and) ten"? These things are important, you know.

post by: Melismata at: 16:57 | 37 comments

I'm a "twenty-ten" kinda guy, but I totally don't mind throwing in a "two-thousand and ten" once in while just to spice things up -- cuz I'm easy that way.

posted by AwkwardPause 06 January | 17:07

I'm a "two-thousand and ten"ner. Because I've been saying "two-thousand and one", "two-thousand and two", "two-thousand and nine" etc., it would feel weird to stop with the two-thousands.

posted by gaspode 06 January | 17:14

I say twenty ten. Rolls off the tongue easier.

posted by special-k 06 January | 17:16

We just had this convo in our house. I will say two thousand-ten, and my husband will be saying twenty-ten. Like the 'pode, I was never a twenty-oh anything; I have since the beginning of the decade past referred to it in English and every other language I speak as two thousand and blah blah blah. I can't say twenty. It's kinda like when I was in seventh grade, and Brother Jacob, my advanced algebra teacher, enjoined all of us to put down the scurrilous use of the word 'oh' in place of 'zero'. I never say 'oh' when I mean 'zero' anymore. I feel the same way about this. Thanks, Brother Jacob.

posted by msali 06 January | 17:19

"Two Thousand (and) Ten" because "Twenty-Ten: The Year We Make Contact" sounds silly.

posted by Atom Eyes 06 January | 17:21

I remain undecided on this, and hope to figure it out before 2011.

posted by BoringPostcards 06 January | 17:24

'Nineteen' is a hell of a lot shorter than 'one thousand nine hundred'. There's not as much motivation to shorten 'two thousand'. Plus, there's the continuity thing gaspode mentioned - which is pretty much the deciding factor for me.

In the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and six
We set sail from the sweet Cobh of Cork...

posted by Wolfdog 06 January | 17:24

Twenty-ten, because for Y2K, I called 2000, twenty-uh-oh.

posted by Ardiril 06 January | 17:27

I like the sound of twenty-ten, but I'll probably wind up saying both.

posted by box 06 January | 17:28

What Atom E. said, the movie said Two Thousand Ten and that sticks in my head and anything else now sounds wrong.

Off topic but that movie doesn't hold up nearly as well as its predecessor

posted by octothorpe 06 January | 17:36

On my first day back at work on Monday, I found myself saying "Twenty-ten", and then thought "Oh, so that's the way I say it". I don't think I'd said it aloud till then.

posted by TheophileEscargot 06 January | 17:39

"Two thousand ten", because I taught my little beginner 8-year-old students "two thousand nine" and I want to keep things simple. One girl still writes the month as "October" for all of her assignments - maybe she thinks it means "date"? :)

posted by mdonley 06 January | 17:56

It's the LT Decade - that's all youse needs to know.

posted by Lipstick Thespian 06 January | 18:23

I imagine I will use both, depending upon context and the cadence of the sentence. I will probably even say 2-10 sometimes.

posted by crush-onastick 06 January | 18:40

"Oh ten"

posted by dersins 06 January | 19:37

You know, I don't think I ever say the year out loud. This is a total non-issue for me.

posted by Eideteker 06 January | 19:39

Twenty-ten!

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 06 January | 19:41

I think we should come up with a third one, and use all three.

posted by JanetLand 06 January | 19:47

Em-em-ex is catchy.

posted by Wolfdog 06 January | 19:57

MMX Baby!

(on preview...I see I am late. Boo.)

posted by richat 06 January | 20:28

I like MMX. That will be how I make out checks.

posted by Ardiril 06 January | 20:31

I think I'm "Two Thousand Ten" but I'll probably be "Twenty Eleven".

posted by dhartung 06 January | 20:41

20-10 because for years we've heard about the upcoming 2010 Olympics (I live nearby) and that's the way they say it.

posted by nelvana 06 January | 20:50

twenty-ten.

posted by arse_hat 06 January | 21:03

That's confusing. I'm still trying to figure out whether to say eleventy-grillion, or infinity plus one.

posted by eekacat 06 January | 21:10

aught ten ?

posted by rollick 06 January | 21:20

"This year"

posted by Marxchivist 06 January | 21:33

"Two thousand and ten", to go with "two thousand and nine" and "two thousand and eleven".

"Twenty ten" isn't a number. It hits my ear like "eleventeen".

posted by pompomtom 06 January | 21:34

We've been saying "twenty-ten" at work for some time - With a lot of relief at letting go the "oughts" or saying "two thousand nine" which is too much of a mouthful.

posted by Miko 06 January | 22:03

MMX is neat-sounding, but it makes me think of Pentiums.

posted by box 06 January | 22:25

1710, 1810, 1910, twenty-ten.

posted by tangerine 07 January | 02:32

A good argument if you also went 1709, 1809, 1909, twenty-oh-nine.

posted by Wolfdog 07 January | 06:25

How did you say 2000-2009?

posted by Eideteker 07 January | 08:06

I'll go back and forth, too.

posted by Stewriffic 07 January | 08:21

How did you say 2000-2009?

"oh four," "oh nine" etc.

"Twenty-ten" is about equal in length.

This might not be a big deal if you don't have to constantly specify the year at your job. We say the name of the year several times a day, so having a quick shorthand is a relief. "Ten" feels a little unspecific (ten what?), so "twenty ten" makes it clear you're talking about the YEAR 2010 without spending four seconds blurting it out.

1810: Eighteen-ten. 1910: Nineteen-ten. 2010: Twenty-ten. It's congruent.

posted by Miko 07 January | 10:43

Twenty ten. Like nelvana said - with the Olympics coming (and being local) they're on the news a lot and that's usually what the anchor says and that's what sticks in my head.

posted by deborah 07 January | 14:52

I said two thousand for 2000 and two thousand-nine for 2009. So, I expect to continue saying two thousand-ten for 2010. I don't see myself using twenty at all. And I'm certain that I'll never use the 'and' when saying the year, unless I'm in some ridiculously and unimaginably formal setting.

posted by marsha56 07 January | 19:08

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