Today I heard an American television presenter say the year 2005 as “twenty-oh-five” and I totally cringed. But this reminded me of a question that, to date, no one has been able to answer for me. Which is – when do we stop saying “two thousand and something” and start saying “twenty something”?
Clearly once we get to the year 2525 it will have to be pronounced the way Zager & Evans did back in 1969. But until then . . .?
casa azahar 
No takers, eh?
It’s a real bugger because my students often ask me why we say “nineteen-something” but now it’s “two thousand and something”.
And I’m like, “well I don’t know, I didn’t invent the bloody language, I just teach it!”
Which is always good for a laugh, but I’d actually like to know myself.
I wonder … how do you say 1007?
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For me, I think it will be two thousand and . . . until 2100, when ur will be twenty one hundred, twenty one oh one etc.
Like I’ll be there 😉
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I think it’s going to stay twenty something for the whole century. Twenty-eleven might be a tad awkward, but it seems like that twenty is here to stay. Then it’ll be something else, until…
I don’t think I’ll be here for the next century, either, unless I can upload my scintillating self… 🙂
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Actually, come to think on it further, it sounds better to say “two thousant and seven”, etc. When it goes to two digits, then “twenty-ten” will sound better. I think.
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Is it actually “twenty something” in the States now then? I thought it was just that one tv presenter.
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On relection, I agree that the cut-off might be 2010 = twenty ten etc
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I’ve never heard it called “twenty” anything yet. I don’t watch much TV at all, but haven’t heard it there, either. I’ll have to start listening to hear how various people say it.
I also agree that I’d think 2010 might be a reasonable starting point, though I haven’t heard that spoken as “twenty ten”, so far, either.
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On one of my English textbook CDs the year 2020 is read as “two thousand and 20”. Perhaps I should ask them over at the Oxford University Press if they know something we don’t know – or perhaps it’s just there on the CD but not “official”.
How do we say 1007, 1020, etc?
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Language evolves.
As in biological evolution there is often more than one version in the “meme-pool”. The “fittest” eventually achieves a dominant position.
And it’s two thousand and seven, but it will be twenty ten…. at least for me.
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Just watched the You Tube video clip that raincoaster linked to in the Conservapedia post and in the trailer they say it’s the year “three thousand nine hundred and fifty-five”. Hmmm…
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Being someone involved in linguistics, I would conclude that the changeover from “two thousand” to “twenty” will be circa 2011.
Though “twenty oh-seven” has no less syllables than “two thousand seven”, this ceases from 2010 onward (“twenty ten” has only 3 syllables).
But, I think “two thousand ten” will win over “twenty ten” for that year, unless the Vancouver olympics official pronunciation has any cultural effect.
By 2011, however, “two thousand eleven” becomes much too cumbersome and many will resort to “twenty eleven”, as it seems to easily roll off the tongue, moreso than “twenty ten” at least.
Think 1066, the famous Battle of Hastings… no one calls that year “one thousand sixty-six”.
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True, but who can tell if it was a hot topic of pedantic debate in 1001 😉 ?
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I guess time will tell, though ‘twenty eleven’ makes sense.
Very odd that there don’t seem to be any clear rules about this.
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For years 2010 and beyond, “Twenty-x” is now being heard much more now on radio and TV, the closer we get to 2010. The Olympic games for 2010, 2012, and 2016 use “twenty” in their official titles.
And decades from now, people may likely say “twenty-oh-seven” when referring back to the long-ago year of 2007.
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