There's a movement to get everyone to pronounce "2010" like "Twenty-Ten". Click here for a column concerning it. Radio host Ron Jolly is apparently on board. As for me, I'm sticking to "Two Thousand Ten" for "2010". Why? I've been think of it as "Two Thousand Ten" since 1982, when Arthur C. Clarke's book "2010: Odyssey Two" came out. So I've known this year longer than non-Clarke fans."2010: Odyssey Two" was the first sequel to the very well known "2001: A Space Odyssey". Everyone pronounced the sequel book (and movie) title as "Two Thousand Ten", which fit perfectly with "Two Thousand One".
There was even a "2010" movie. Anyone remember this one, starring Roy Scheider from "Jaws"? I remember it mainly for its anachronisms. That is, things that in 1984 they thought that everyone would use in 2010, but they really did not give it a lot of thought. The most glaring one was when they showed Scheider on the beach using an Apple IIc computer. I remember this machine. It was underwhelming in 1984 (a time when PCs and even the Commodore 64 were leaving Apple far behind, shortly before Apple unveiled its first Macintosh). So, why would anyone in 1984 think that 26 years lafter, people would be using 26 year old computers? The "2001" movie from 1968 did a lot better job at having some sort of imaginative vision of the future. The tablet computers they showed in the "2001" movie were ahead of their time, not behind their time.
There was even a "2010" movie. Anyone remember this one, starring Roy Scheider from "Jaws"? I remember it mainly for its anachronisms. That is, things that in 1984 they thought that everyone would use in 2010, but they really did not give it a lot of thought. The most glaring one was when they showed Scheider on the beach using an Apple IIc computer. I remember this machine. It was underwhelming in 1984 (a time when PCs and even the Commodore 64 were leaving Apple far behind, shortly before Apple unveiled its first Macintosh). So, why would anyone in 1984 think that 26 years lafter, people would be using 26 year old computers? The "2001" movie from 1968 did a lot better job at having some sort of imaginative vision of the future. The tablet computers they showed in the "2001" movie were ahead of their time, not behind their time.
Back to what to call years, I also never went in for the "and" stuck in the middle of the years of the last decade (example: "two-thousand-and-six" instead of "two-thousand-six". The "and" in there sounded like a stutter. After all, "1975" was not "19 and 75".
So, at this time of year when everyone is still writing "2009" on their checks by mistake, what are my readers saying for the current year? "Two-Thousand-Ten" or "Twenty-Ten" ?
So, at this time of year when everyone is still writing "2009" on their checks by mistake, what are my readers saying for the current year? "Two-Thousand-Ten" or "Twenty-Ten" ?
18 comments:
I've seen this question discussed all over and apparently it is quite controversial! I think I am going with twenty. The good thing is that either way people will understand what is being referred to.
Um, that would be twenty TEN. Yeah.
The experts say "twenty ten" should and will win. I agree. But I'll probably still call the book and movie "two thousand ten."
By the way, the book is very good (8.5 of 10) and the movie is good too (8.0 of 10). Both are worth checking out, especially if you're a fan of 2001.
I alternate between both. I think 20-10 sounds better but two thousand nineteen sounds way better than 20-19. It depends on the year I think.
HA! I got the year right on the very first check I wrote. (I'll mess up in February though).
Really, we're talking about an interchangeable phrasing here. Although I'm favorable to two thousand ten myself, just because it sounds more intelligent. But I'll use the other sometimes when dealing with the braindead (most people).
I don't know if I've actually said it before, but in my head I say 2 thousand and ten.
So far, in practice, I'm on your side, dmarks, but who knows how I may slip and slide in the long months ahead?
I'm thinking two thousand ten for several reasons. One, because I've been saying two thousand one, two thousand two, etc., for the last 9 years. Why change now?
And two, for the same reason you mentioned, namely "2010: Odyssey Two." Yes, I've read the book & have seen the movie. Big fan of Clarke's work.
I forgot to mention that I'll be having trouble remembering the new year too... I'll be writing Year of the OX on my checks for
months ;-)
BTW the next lunar new year is the Year of the Tiger amd it comes on 2/14/10. Heh heh.
I like balance, so I'm using both. Depending on how I feel.
I don't know which I will use.
And what stardate is it now anyway?
I've just been calling every year since 2000 "da fyoo-cha" in my best Schwarzenegger accent.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/01/MN621BB41U.DTL
2010: 'Twenty ten' vs. 'two thousand ten'
Nanette Asimov, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, January 1, 2010
How do you say "2010"?
Coming off of "two thousand nine," you'll probably say "two thousand ten." In fact, 4 out of 5 YouTube videos randomly reviewed by The Chronicle have people pronouncing it that way.
But you would be wrong, so wrong, according to the National Association of Good Grammar.
"NAGG has decided to step in and decree that (2010) should officially be pronounced 'twenty ten,' and all subsequent years should be pronounced as 'twenty eleven,' 'twenty twelve,' etc.," proclaims the association's news release.
The National Association of Good Grammar--essentially a guy named Tom Torriglia and some friends who also paid attention in English class--say people have been mispronouncing the year for 10 years.
"NAGG is here to put everybody back on the correct path," Torriglia said by phone from his home in San Francisco. "We lost the battle when we went from 1999 to 2000--but now we're hoping to win the war."
The "20" should have been pronounced "twenty" all along, he said, pointing out that every year in the 20th century was pronounced "nineteen something."
"'Twenty' follows 'nineteen.' 'Two thousand' does not follow 'nineteen.' It's logical."
Laura: I will probably get used to it. Yes, it is a good thing about either way.
But this morning I heard a radio host catch himself midway and say "Two Thousand Twenty Ten".
Rob: I've read most Clarke, but have not read "2010". I remember being underwhelmed by the movie, but it did have its moments. It appears to have dropped off the radar.
Natalie: Actually, I think "Twenty-____" will sound better for the rest of the decade.
Patrick; I've gotten them right so far, too. What I need are checks featuring Roy Scheider and his 2010 "Apple iic" in the graphics.
Churlita. I'm still doing that.
PJ. Eventually we may succumb to the relentless advance of the Twenty-10'ers.
Beck: It's not a too-mahh!
Cube: Good point. I did not think of the precedent from the previous decade.
And if it is the year of the Tiger, 2009 was not a good year for the Tiger at all.
Laughing: I remember the stardates from the old show as being all over the place. And then the calendars in the 1970s used a nice consident year dot number of month system. I noticed them using this in the most recent movie. too.
Rob: I wonder if NAGG is related to the Keepers of Odd Knowledge?
I'll stick with you on this.
I'll stick with you on this.
They filmed part of 2010 in DC. Scheider got in trouble when he announced that he'd mooned Reagan's helicopter as it took off from behind the Whites during a day of filming.
Wikipedia mentions it in it's article on Mooning, but cites no source.
Here's a recent blog post on the topic: http://robertdrichards.blogspot.com/2009/12/2010-odyssey-20.html
Blogs are not considered reliable sources on wikipedia, but I'm convinced.
White House.
Must stop typing with meat cleaver hooks.
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