How will you pronounce 2012? And what will this decade be called?

Barb D · Aug 24, 2009

I tried posting this earlier in the Story Research forum, and when I hit Submit AW was down! I think I broke it!

And now that whole forum is GONE!

Anyway, how will you pronounce the year 2012? Twenty-twelve? Two-thousand-twelve? Something else? (Poll coming.)

Also, now that we're almost at the end of this decade, I still don't know what it's called. Are we in the aughts? The Ohs? The Zeros? Something else? (80's music, 90's music, _____ music...)

Adam · Aug 24, 2009

I'll likely say "two thousand and twelve".

JoNightshade · Aug 24, 2009

Adzmodeus said:
I'll likely say "two thousand and twelve".

Technically that's incorrect, since "and" is used to signify a decimal point. Two thousand AND twelve would be 2000.12

Actually I think I am inclined to say something equally incorrect - two-twelve. I know it's wrong but it's what comes out easiest.

scarletpeaches · Aug 24, 2009

Twenty twelve, and we live in 'the noughties'.

scarletpeaches · Aug 24, 2009

JoNightshade said:
Technically that's incorrect, since "and" is used to signify a decimal point. Two thousand AND twelve would be 2000.12

Actually I think I am inclined to say something equally incorrect - two-twelve. I know it's wrong but it's what comes out easiest.

Actually no, allow me to correct you illiterate Americans yet again.

2000.12 is two thousand point one two, as digits after the decimal point are read individually, not as whole numbers.

So ner ner ner ner ner, etc.

Adam · Aug 24, 2009

JoNightshade said:
Technically that's incorrect, since "and" is used to signify a decimal point. Two thousand AND twelve would be 2000.12

Actually I think I am inclined to say something equally incorrect - two-twelve. I know it's wrong but it's what comes out easiest.

The question was how would I pronounce it, not "what's grammatically correct".

So far I've called 'em:

Two thousand and one
Two thousand and two
Two thousand and three
Two thousand and four
Two thousand and five
Two thousand and six
Two thousand and seven
Two thousand and eight
Two thousand and nine

As has everyone I speak to. Maybe it's a regional English thing.

scarletpeaches · Aug 24, 2009

What's wrong with two thousand and onety-two?

Adam · Aug 24, 2009

scarletpeaches said:
Actually no, allow me to correct you illiterate Americans yet again.

2000.12 is two thousand point one two, as digits after the decimal point are read individually, not as whole numbers.

So ner ner ner ner ner, etc.

This too.

KTC · Aug 24, 2009

Adzmodeus said:
The question was how would I pronounce it, not "what's grammatically correct".

So far I've called 'em:

Two thousand and one
Two thousand and two
Two thousand and three
Two thousand and four
Two thousand and five
Two thousand and six
Two thousand and seven
Two thousand and eight
Two thousand and nine

As has everyone I speak to. Maybe it's a regional English thing.

i just called them:

oh-one
oh-two
oh-three
oh-four
oh-five
oh-six
oh-seven
oh-shit
oh-eight
oh-nine

are you paying attention?

Adam · Aug 24, 2009

KTC said:
i just called them:

oh-one
oh-two
oh-three
oh-four
oh-five
oh-six
oh-seven
oh-shit
oh-eight
oh-nine

are you paying attention?

Oh.

HAHAHAHA! SEE WHUT I DID THAR?!?!?!

*Ahem*

Sorry.

KTC · Aug 24, 2009

Adzmodeus said:
Oh.

HAHAHAHA! SEE WHUT I DID THAR?!?!?!

*Ahem*

Sorry.

i kill me. if nobody else, i do kill me.

KTC · Aug 24, 2009

poetinahat said:
Twenty-one-twelve minus a hundred.

Hooozah.

Rush - 100 = Max Webster

Siddow · Aug 24, 2009

I'm going to call it Mixie.

Vincent · Aug 24, 2009

I'm just waiting patiently for the twenties.

NicoleMD · Aug 24, 2009

I think I'm going ahead with:

oh-ten
oh-eleven
oh-twelve
...

That's what we've been doing at work, at first in jest, but it might stick. And technically there is still an oh in it.

Nciole

AnonymousWriter · Aug 24, 2009

Twenty twelve.

If the world survives till then...

Priene · Aug 24, 2009

Emm-Emm-Ex-Eye-Eye

Cranky · Aug 24, 2009

Twenty twelve, fo sho.

Up till then, it'll be like this:

Two thousand one
Two thousand two
Two thousand three
Two thousand four

.....aaaaaaaaand yadda yadda yadda. Too lazy to type it out like everyone else has.

The one that trips me up isn't 2012, it's 2011. Twenty eleven? Twenty eleventy one? *head asplodes* Two thousand eleven just seems too ponderous.

Wayne K · Aug 25, 2009

Adzmodeus said:
I'll likely say "two thousand and twelve".

Is it 2000.12 already, where does the time go

Shakesbear · Aug 25, 2009

Twenty twelve. Though I did like Scarletpeaches suggestion of two thousand and onety-two!

john barnes on toast · Aug 25, 2009

JoNightshade said:
Technically that's incorrect, since "and" is used to signify a decimal point.

It might be in the bastardised version of English you've appropriated, and your welcome to do it however you want.

but don't try and dictate to the rest of us that the way to pronounce 1.2 would be 'one and two'.

Not having it.

Elidibus · Aug 25, 2009

It depends on how I'm referring to the year, really. If I'm referring to the inevitable zombie Apocalypse that will doom all of man kind, I say "Twenty-twelve."

However, if I'm just referring to it as something like a date. I would say "Two thousand and twelve." Because it feels weird having so few syllables in a year date. Think about it...

Jo · Aug 25, 2009

Looking forward, I say twenty twelve. Living through it, I'll probably say twelve (as in the last part of a date when you sign and date something), and looking back, I may say two thousand and twelve.

At the moment, I refer to the years just past as oh one, oh two, etc., or two thousand and one, two thousand and two, etc., and the decade as the noughties. As an aside, I noticed the geriatric customers I served in pharmacy in the 80s referred to, say, 1912, as nineteen hundred and twelve, while we newbies would say nineteen twelve.

Ms Hollands · Aug 25, 2009

I'll probably be saying "deux mille douze" if I'm still living in France - no confusing alternatives here!

Otherwise, I'd be saying "twenty twelve" and have voted appropriately.

maestrowork · Aug 25, 2009

Either twenty twelve (as in nineteen sixty-nine) or two thousand twelve works for me.

I mean, how do you say 1901? Nineteen oh-one or nineteen zero-one, right? That's why nineteen sixty-nine works.

But we've been calling the 2000s "two thousand" for 10 years: two thousand two, two thousand three... so two thousand twelve would work.

But some people would prefer twenty twelve because that's how we say nineteen something...

Technically speaking, two thousand twelve is correct. 1969 should have been "nineteen hundred sixty-nine" but people simply dropped the "hundred."

Similarly, 1900s would be "the nineteen hundreds" so of course 2000s would be "the two thousands." "Twenty twelve" sounds fine, but it's technically incorrect, because people don't say "twenty hundred"; they say "two thousand."

Confused?

How will you pronounce 2012? And what will this decade be called?

How will you pronounce the year 2012?

Twenty-twelve

Two-thousand-twelve

Something else

What does it matter? The world will be gone by then anyway.

Not dead.

has finally arrived

Not dead.

Not dead.

Stand in the Place Where You Live

Not dead.

Stand in the Place Where You Live

Stand in the Place Where You Live

I'm super! Thanks for asking

Cheers

Onomatopotamus

Out to lunch

knows a hawk from a handsaw

Over 9000!!!!!!!

Travelling the re-write road

Cow lover

Fear the Death Ray