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How to pronounce 2011?

I had this argument with a few of friends last year when it came to the pronunciation of 2010. My take is that it should be pronounced "twenty-eleven." There is a lot of reasons why it should be pronounced this way. As a matter of fact, I wrote a research paper about this a long time ago:

Code:

“Good evening parents, friends, relatives, teachers, and supporters! Tonight we will be having our 100th graduating class of Lincoln High School. Now without further ado, here is the class of two thousand and ten…or twenty ten…or whatever you want to call it.”

Does that sound like a great start to a graduation ceremony? Probably not. That is why it is important to make a standard pronunciation for the year 2010 to get rid of confusion and disputes. “Among experts and the general public, there is a debate as to how specific years of the 21st century should be pronounced.” (Wikipedia.com) There are a number of possible ways to pronounce the year 2010, however, the most professional way to pronounce it should be “twenty ten” instead of “two thousand (and) ten” or the more frivolous “two oh one oh.” Currently, arguments exist about the standard pronunciation of the year 2010. If we don’t fix this problem soon, it will ruin the system we have establish we already have for pronouncing years. Standardization is important to unify concepts and us as a people and avoid confusion. “Twenty ten” is the best candidate for the pronunciation of the year 2010 and this paper will share the numerous reasons why we should call it that.

First of all, there are many people and organizations that would agree with me. A common online dictionary says that the correct pronunciation method for the year 2010 is “twenty ten” (Wikipedia.com). Even according to some online internet polls, majority of the public prefers to use the “twenty ten” method for the year 2010. (thefrisky.com). There have even been entire websites dedicated to start convince people that “twenty ten” is right and “two thousand and ten” is wrong. (twentynot2000.com). Also, the 2010 Olympics are being called the “twenty ten” Olympics, Oprah Winfrey has been caught saying “twenty ten” and many commercials, especially automobile commercials such as Buick have used “twenty ten” pronunciation. (ndnforums.com) 

Now these people and websites are not just promoting “twenty ten” because it just sounds good. Many people have very specific reasons why we should say “twenty ten.” First of all, many people claim that “two thousand (and) ten” is much easier to say. Well I think that “twenty ten” is much easier to say as well as easier to read and write. People just have not become accustomed to saying “twenty ten.” That’s why it sounds awkward to some people. But if you count the number of syllables it takes to say each, you will see that “twenty ten” has 3 and “two thousand ten” has 4, 5 if you include the optional “and.” Also, when it comes to reading and writing, “twenty ten” consists of two words and nine letters while “two thousand (and) ten” comes in with a lengthy three words (four words with the “and”) and 14 letters (17 letters with the “and”). 

Next, I would like to acknowledge that when we pronounce different years, we typically use the XXYY method. What I mean is that we say the first two digits as one number and the last two digits as one number. Take for example 1839. We take the first two digits and say “eighteen” then the last two digits and say “thirty-nine.” Put it together and you get “eighteen thirty-nine.” Now using the XXYY method for 2010 we get “twenty” then “ten” to get “twenty ten.” For about the last ten years we have been using the “X thousand and YY” method to which has only been used for the years 2000 and present day. I don’t mind the “X thousand and YYY” method for the years 2000-2009 because it does sound bit awkward to say “twenty oh one” for 2001, mostly because it is hard to visually see the “twenty” as a separate entity. Now with 2010, it is easy to distinguish between the “twenty” part and the “ten” part. We have been using the XXYY method for most of history up to “nineteen ninety-nine” (not one thousand nine hundred and ninety nine). It has become a general rule and I don’t see why we have to break it. It’s a new decade so right now would be the best time to revert back to the more professional XXYY method.

In conclusion, we should say “twenty ten” as opposed to “two thousand and ten.” There are more reasons to say it than not to. It is time for change to change we were before the third millennium. It’s a new year and a new decade. So while you are trying to lose weight, save money, and kick bad habits, try to add ‘saying “twenty ten”’ to your new years resolutions. Maybe next year, the emcee for Lincoln High School’s graduation ceremony will confidently be able to say, “Here is the class of twenty eleven!”



Works Cited

1.        http://www.en.wikipedia.org, Wikipedia.org, 9 February 2009, 9 February 2010.

2.        http://www.thefrisky.com, The Frisky, 5 February 2009, 9 February 2010.

3.        http://www.twentynot2000.com, n.p., 1 January 2010, 9 February 2010.

4.        http://www.ndnforums.com, n.p., Norfolk Daily News, 4 December 2009, 9 February 2010.

So what do you guys think?

Re: How to pronounce 2011?

whats with the weird formatting

Re: How to pronounce 2011?

Why not say "this year"?
Makes it simple.

Re: How to pronounce 2011?

Quote:

Originally Posted by who_cares973 (Post 3387273)

whats with the weird formatting

Copied & pasted from Word. It put a line break only at the end of my paragraphs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Im Vince

Why not say "this year"?
Makes it simple.

"Here is the graduating class of... this year!"
Doesn't sound too great for every occasion.

Re: How to pronounce 2011?

I say Two-Thousand-Eleven. . Twenty Eleven / Twenty Ten sounds dumb after 2009 was two-thousand-and-nine in my opinion. I just keep to the trend.

Re: How to pronounce 2011?

I saw twenty-eleven. Short and sweet.

Re: How to pronounce 2011?

If it's more official, I like to use the long version (Two thousand eleven, or Two thousand and eleven), but it's much more simple and easier to say Twenty Eleven.

Re: How to pronounce 2011?

Quote:

Originally Posted by championanwar (Post 3387285)

I say Two-Thousand-Eleven. . Twenty Eleven / Twenty Ten sounds dumb after 2009 was two-thousand-and-nine in my opinion. I just keep to the trend.

This.

Doesn't make me want to say "twenty-eleven".

Re: How to pronounce 2011?

Quote:

Originally Posted by championanwar (Post 3387285)

I say Two-Thousand-Eleven. . Twenty Eleven / Twenty Ten sounds dumb after 2009 was two-thousand-and-nine in my opinion. I just keep to the trend.

What about the "trend" that has been going on for about 2000 years that stopped eleven years ago? You wouldn't say "One thousand nine hundred and ninety nine" for the year 1999 right? Plus, according to some dictionaries the official way is to say it as "Twenty ten", "Twenty eleven", etc...

Re: How to pronounce 2011?

I graduated last year so I've had this debate a few times. My principal said "graduating class of two-thousand ten" at graduation but any other time [like during graduation rehearsal] he'd say "twenty ten". I think it really depends on the occasion. Obviously you'd want to be more formal at a graduation ceremony.

Re: How to pronounce 2011?

i just say oh eleven or eleven to keep things simple

Re: How to pronounce 2011?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ichliebekase (Post 3387295)

Are you saying that the pronunciations given by dictionaries are "informal?" This link: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Append..._pronunciation , for example, shows "twenty-ten" as the regular or "formal pronunciation while "two thousand & ten" falls under "alternative" or "informal" pronunciation.

Re: How to pronounce 2011?

I say two-zero-one-one. It's the most obvious way of reading it.

Re: How to pronounce 2011?

two thousand and eleven

Re: How to pronounce 2011?

I say Two thousand eleven. Twenty ten just sounds lol.

Re: How to pronounce 2011?

Quote:

Originally Posted by reuben_tate (Post 3387304)

umad?

[opinion]Saying "two-thousand" instead of "twenty" is more formal. [/opinion]

And plus, that's Wikipedia...you're trying to prove a point with that?

[opinion]Did you pronounce the year 2000 as "twenty hundred"? No, it's "two-thousand". Adding more years to it means you add that number to the end of it. [/opinion]

EDIT: You used Wikipedia as a works cited for a research paper? Wow around here, you'd get an automatic zero on anything you used Wikipedia with.

Re: How to pronounce 2011?

for you idiots that say two thousand eleven, say 1999 out loud. thanks

Re: How to pronounce 2011?

Honestly does it really ****ing matter how one says it?

Re: How to pronounce 2011?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ichliebekase (Post 3387309)

Ok, it was a report from sophomore year in high school. I used other sources as well. Plus, the link I provided was from Wiktionary, not Wikipedia. Plus, I know how to use Wikipedia properly. Every article has a history tab, discussion board, and numerous references. Wikipedia can be used as a good source if used cautiously and effectively. (Don't make me post my paper about Wikipedia as a reliable source.) Plus, I don't get your quote: "[opinion]Did you pronounce the year 2000 as "twenty hundred"? No, it's "two-thousand". Adding more years to it means you add that number to the end of it. [/opinion]." I don't think you understand my point. I was trying to get across that in the pre-2000's, we would never say the entire year as if it was a regular number. My main point is that we say numbers differently for different occasions and that we should be consistent with the pronunciation. We have been using the XXYY model for year pronunciation but this recent X thousand and YYY model is creating inconsistencies.

Re: How to pronounce 2011?