The Year 2012: Do You Say "Twenty-Twelve" or "Two Thousand-Twelve"

Tony · 25th May 2012, 02:27 PM

Which is it? I say "Twenty-Twelve" mostly because it sounds better, more consistent with the past and less tedious over the long term. I think the custom of saying "Two-thousand..." is a hold over from the 20th century when there was a lot of buzz and novelty about the year "Two-thousand".

AdMan · 25th May 2012, 02:38 PM

Originally Posted by Tony

Which is it? I say "Twenty-Twelve" mostly because it sounds better, more consistent with the past and less tedious over the long term. I think the custom of saying "Two-thousand..." is a hold over from the 20th century when there was a lot of buzz and novelty about the year "Two-thousand".

Not so much "buzz and novelty" but rather how would you call the year 2000 if not "two thousand"? Twenty hundred sounds really weird, at least to me, though I suppose it's still acceptable.

For 2012, however, I'd go with twenty-twelve.

Pulvinar · 25th May 2012, 02:38 PM

I go by what Zager & Evans would say.

Nowhere Man · 25th May 2012, 02:51 PM

"Twenty-twelve." For me 2000 through 2009 were "two thousand" through "two-thousand nine" because I think "twenty-oh-nine" sounds silly (besides the fact that "oh" is a letter and not a digit). Dunno what I'd have done between 1900-1909.

Fred

jasonpatterson · 25th May 2012, 04:51 PM

Originally Posted by Nowhere Man

Dunno what I'd have done between 1900-1909.

Back in ought nine you'd probably have said ought nine like everyone else (at least in the US.)

I say two thousand twelve because, you know, that's what that number is. I never said, "one thousand nine hundred eighty three," to mark the year though, so I'm definitely not going to argue with the 20-12'ers. I'm also one of those crazy people who tends to say 'zero' rather than 'oh' for the numeral 0 though, so I can't be trusted.

brodski · 25th May 2012, 05:10 PM

Two thousand AND twelve.

Or twenty- twelve.

learner · 25th May 2012, 06:25 PM

Two thousand and twelve for me.

Wowbagger · 25th May 2012, 07:45 PM

Two-Zero-One-Two

Morrigan · 26th May 2012, 01:15 AM

I say deux mille douze.

gabeygoat · 26th May 2012, 01:23 AM

Two Oh One Dos

Orphia Nay · 26th May 2012, 01:31 AM

Originally Posted by learner

Two thousand and twelve for me.

Same here.

Twenty-twelve just sounds so lazy and wrong.

gabeygoat · 26th May 2012, 01:50 AM

totey ought uniday

hgc · 26th May 2012, 04:57 AM

Originally Posted by brodski

Two thousand AND twelve.

That reads to me like 2000.12. AND in a number denotes decimal/fraction.

I know that the name of a year isn't just a number in the mathematical sense, so I'm not so strict about it, but some things I learned in 4th grade have stuck very well. If you were to say that 843 people at your birthday party as eight hundred and forty-three, I'd say absolutely wrong.

zooterkin · 26th May 2012, 11:27 AM

Originally Posted by hgc

That reads to me like 2000.12. AND in a number denotes decimal/fraction.

But you would never say 'twelve' as part of a decimal.

Quote:

I know that the name of a year isn't just a number in the mathematical sense, so I'm not so strict about it, but some things I learned in 4th grade have stuck very well. If you were to say that 843 people at your birthday party as eight hundred and forty-three, I'd say absolutely wrong.

Just one of those differences between English and American; 'and' after 'hundred' is the standard way to say numbers in the UK (and Australia, from the foregoing comments).

For the year, I'd say either "twenty twelve" or "two thousand and twelve"; for the years 2000-2009, I'd only say "two thousand (and X)". You can't just say "Twenty Eight", for example, because it's ambiguous, and "Twenty Oh Eight" is a bit clumsy. Not sure why, though; for 1908 I'd say "Nineteen Oh Eight".

Ryokan · 27th May 2012, 07:07 AM

I say MMXII.

arthwollipot · 27th May 2012, 07:21 AM

I say 2012.

brodski · 27th May 2012, 07:28 AM

Originally Posted by hgc

That reads to me like 2000.12. AND in a number denotes decimal/fraction.

Only in modern American English, unless the Gettysburg address was given 80.7 years after the American revolution, or the King James bible claims the natural life span of man is 80.1 years. And who the hell would bake 4.2 blackbirds in a pie? :P

brodski · 27th May 2012, 07:30 AM

Originally Posted by Orphia Nay

Same here.

Twenty-twelve just sounds so lazy and wrong.

How do you say 1912?

Elizabeth I · 27th May 2012, 08:00 AM

Up until 2010, I said "two thousand one," "two thousand two," etc., because "twenty oh one" just sounded awkward. But once we got to 2010, I started saying "twenty ten," etc.

Vortigern99 · 27th May 2012, 08:34 AM

I chose two-thousand-twelve because of the three choices that is the one I use the most.

Usually, though, I excise the "two-thousand" entirely and just say "oh-twelve". This gets odd looks from people sometimes, and derision from my wife, but there is clearly an '0' right before the '12'.

Saule · 27th May 2012, 09:35 AM

Two millennia and twelve

Mercurial Artism · 27th May 2012, 10:37 AM

2.012 x 10^3

Quote:

Just one of those differences between English and American; 'and' after 'hundred' is the standard way to say numbers in the UK (and Australia, from the foregoing comments).

For the year, I'd say either "twenty twelve" or "two thousand and twelve"; for the years 2000-2009, I'd only say "two thousand (and X)". You can't just say "Twenty Eight", for example, because it's ambiguous, and "Twenty Oh Eight" is a bit clumsy. Not sure why, though; for 1908 I'd say "Nineteen Oh Eight".

That's funny. I've lived my whole life in the U.S., and I typically say "two-thousand-and-twelve" whether referring to the year or the quantity. All my rent checks have "X hundred and Y dollars" written on them.

Soapy Sam · 27th May 2012, 03:15 PM

Originally Posted by Mercurial Artism

2.012 x 10^3

All my rent checks have "X hundred and Y dollars" written on them.

I'll bet your bank are getting tired of that.

TubbaBlubba · 27th May 2012, 03:20 PM

The Swedish equivalents are just about as long, actually, "two thousand twelve" is one syllable shorter, and a lot of the consonants are swallowed.

So that carries over, and I say two thousand twelve, the few times I say it.

Also, we never shorten e.g. 1950 to "nineteen fifty", we always say "nineteen hundred and fifty". Likewise we always say "twenty hundred and twelve", never "twenty twelve", which is why it's longer than "two thousand twelve".

IMST · 27th May 2012, 04:21 PM

I'm trying to say "twelve". Last century I only used the last two digits, so I don't see why that should change.

Dave Rogers · 28th May 2012, 01:36 AM

I've been used to saying "twenty-one twelve" since 1976, so "twenty-twelve" comes quite naturally.

Dave

Horatius · 28th May 2012, 07:11 AM

If I say "two-thousand-and-twelve" when trying to type the date, I inevitably add an extra zero*, to get 20012...so I say Twenty-Twelve to avoid this problem.

*Because two thousand has lots of zeros, right? My fingers get ahead of my brain, then have to back up a step.

Roboramma · 28th May 2012, 07:28 AM

二零一二年

arthwollipot · 28th May 2012, 07:36 AM

The "and" thing is a weird one. I would never say "two thousand twelve". It would always be "two thousand and twelve". It wouldn't be right otherwise.

But every time I've examined it, I've never found any real good reason why.

41: Forty one
401: Four hundred and one
4,401: Four thousand, four hundred and one.
4,441,401: Four million, four hundred and forty one thousand, four hundred and one.

It's so right, but it just doesn't make sense. There's no consistency!

hgc · 28th May 2012, 09:52 AM

Originally Posted by arthwollipot

The "and" thing is a weird one. I would never say "two thousand twelve". It would always be "two thousand and twelve". It wouldn't be right otherwise.

But every time I've examined it, I've never found any real good reason why.

41: Forty one
401: Four hundred and one
4,401: Four thousand, four hundred and one.
4,441,401: Four million, four hundred and forty one thousand, four hundred and one.

It's so right, but it just doesn't make sense. There's no consistency!

You're 99% of the way there. Just change your mind. Right now. It makes sense to say four hundred one, four million four hundred forty-one thousand four hundred one (no commas), etc.

Do it! You'll like it!

hgc · 28th May 2012, 10:02 AM

Originally Posted by brodski

Only in modern American English, unless the Gettysburg address was given 80.7 years after the American revolution, or the King James bible claims the natural life span of man is 80.1 years. And who the hell would bake 4.2 blackbirds in a pie? :P

Excellent point. What, really, is the and doing here, both for my 4th grade teacher and for Abraham Lincoln? It's the verbal plus sign. It's saying add them together. And so four score + seven really is 87 and four + twenty really is 24, but then that's more poetical, and I'm all in favor. But in more straightforward language, I'm pretty much going to use the verbal addition for verbalized fractions only, and string together an integer without and.

EventHorizon · 28th May 2012, 02:28 PM

011111011100

Orphia Nay · 28th May 2012, 03:10 PM

Originally Posted by brodski

How do you say 1912?

Aw, crap.

arthwollipot · 28th May 2012, 06:04 PM

How do you say 1200?

One thousand two hundred?
Twelve hundred?

WildCat · 28th May 2012, 06:47 PM

I say it both ways, no rhyme or reason.

Multivac · 29th May 2012, 08:22 AM

Two thousand and twelve. The and is important.

brodski · 30th May 2012, 02:11 AM

Originally Posted by hgc

Excellent point. What, really, is the and doing here, both for my 4th grade teacher and for Abraham Lincoln? It's the verbal plus sign. It's saying add them together. And so four score + seven really is 87 and four + twenty really is 24, but then that's more poetical, and I'm all in favor. But in more straightforward language, I'm pretty much going to use the verbal addition for verbalized fractions only, and string together an integer without and.

I think that both with and without the and work fine, and make sense, however in my futile search across the internets to try and find when "and" became a marker for UK/ US English I did find a lot of people who vehemently held that using and was a crime against logic and English, which seems a bizarre position to take but them people do often take bizarre positions on matters of usage.

GreyArea · 31st May 2012, 12:12 PM

Originally Posted by Tony

Which is it?

I refer the honourable gentleman to the answer I gave some moments ago.

MostlyHarmless · 1st June 2012, 02:50 PM

Originally Posted by IMST

I'm trying to say "twelve". Last century I only used the last two digits, so I don't see why that should change.

I was thinking about this my self. I can't really understand why just saying "twelve" sounds wrong. Most years do have at least two words. I use "oh-eight" and "ninety four". "Ten" just sounds wrong like "twelve" or just "nine", but I had no problem with "sixty" or "ninety". I obviously have a prejudice, but I can't explain it.

Twenty-Twelve	49	62.03%
Two Thousand-Twelve	20	25.32%
On Planet X, we still party like its Nineteen Ninety-Nine.	10	12.66%
Voters: 79. You may not vote on this poll

25th May 2012, 02:27 PM	#1
Tony Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Texas Posts: 13,767	The Year 2012: Do You Say "Twenty-Twelve" or "Two Thousand-Twelve" Which is it? I say "Twenty-Twelve" mostly because it sounds better, more consistent with the past and less tedious over the long term. I think the custom of saying "Two-thousand..." is a hold over from the 20th century when there was a lot of buzz and novelty about the year "Two-thousand".
	__________________ It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. - Aristotle Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company. - Mark Twain

25th May 2012, 02:38 PM	#2
AdMan Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 7,191	Originally Posted by Tony Which is it? I say "Twenty-Twelve" mostly because it sounds better, more consistent with the past and less tedious over the long term. I think the custom of saying "Two-thousand..." is a hold over from the 20th century when there was a lot of buzz and novelty about the year "Two-thousand". Not so much "buzz and novelty" but rather how would you call the year 2000 if not "two thousand"? Twenty hundred sounds really weird, at least to me, though I suppose it's still acceptable. For 2012, however, I'd go with twenty-twelve.
AdMan Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 7,191	Last edited by AdMan; 25th May 2012 at 02:41 PM.

25th May 2012, 02:38 PM	#3
Pulvinar Muse Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 819	I go by what Zager & Evans would say.
Pulvinar Muse Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 819

25th May 2012, 02:51 PM	#4
Nowhere Man Scholar Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 108	"Twenty-twelve." For me 2000 through 2009 were "two thousand" through "two-thousand nine" because I think "twenty-oh-nine" sounds silly (besides the fact that "oh" is a letter and not a digit). Dunno what I'd have done between 1900-1909. Fred
Nowhere Man Scholar Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 108

25th May 2012, 04:51 PM	#5
jasonpatterson Philanthropic Misanthrope Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Space, The Final Frontier Posts: 2,183	Originally Posted by Nowhere Man Dunno what I'd have done between 1900-1909. Back in ought nine you'd probably have said ought nine like everyone else (at least in the US.) I say two thousand twelve because, you know, that's what that number is. I never said, "one thousand nine hundred eighty three," to mark the year though, so I'm definitely not going to argue with the 20-12'ers. I'm also one of those crazy people who tends to say 'zero' rather than 'oh' for the numeral 0 though, so I can't be trusted.
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25th May 2012, 05:10 PM	#6
brodski Tea-Time toad Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 15,085	Two thousand AND twelve. Or twenty- twelve.
brodski Tea-Time toad Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 15,085

25th May 2012, 06:25 PM	#7
learner Graduate Poster Join Date: May 2008 Location: dorset england Posts: 1,589	Two thousand and twelve for me.
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25th May 2012, 07:45 PM	#8
Wowbagger The Infinitely Prolonged Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Westchester County, NY (when not in space) Posts: 13,531	Two-Zero-One-Two
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26th May 2012, 01:15 AM	#9
Morrigan Crone of War Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 6,879	I say deux mille douze.
Morrigan Crone of War Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 6,879

26th May 2012, 01:23 AM	#10
gabeygoat Muse Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Hard Corvallis, Oregon Posts: 668	Two Oh One Dos

26th May 2012, 01:31 AM	#11
Orphia Nay Penguilicious Spodmaster. Tagger Join Date: May 2005 Location: Ponylandistan Presidential Palace (above the Spods' stables). Posts: 28,381	Originally Posted by learner Two thousand and twelve for me. Same here. Twenty-twelve just sounds so lazy and wrong.
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26th May 2012, 01:50 AM	#12
gabeygoat Muse Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Hard Corvallis, Oregon Posts: 668	totey ought uniday

26th May 2012, 04:57 AM	#13
hgc Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 13,018	Originally Posted by brodski Two thousand AND twelve. That reads to me like 2000.12. AND in a number denotes decimal/fraction. I know that the name of a year isn't just a number in the mathematical sense, so I'm not so strict about it, but some things I learned in 4th grade have stuck very well. If you were to say that 843 people at your birthday party as eight hundred and forty-three, I'd say absolutely wrong.
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26th May 2012, 11:27 AM	#14
zooterkin Nitpicking dilettante Moderator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Berkshire, mostly Posts: 24,588	Originally Posted by hgc That reads to me like 2000.12. AND in a number denotes decimal/fraction. But you would never say 'twelve' as part of a decimal. Quote: I know that the name of a year isn't just a number in the mathematical sense, so I'm not so strict about it, but some things I learned in 4th grade have stuck very well. If you were to say that 843 people at your birthday party as eight hundred and forty-three, I'd say absolutely wrong. Just one of those differences between English and American; 'and' after 'hundred' is the standard way to say numbers in the UK (and Australia, from the foregoing comments). For the year, I'd say either "twenty twelve" or "two thousand and twelve"; for the years 2000-2009, I'd only say "two thousand (and X)". You can't just say "Twenty Eight", for example, because it's ambiguous, and "Twenty Oh Eight" is a bit clumsy. Not sure why, though; for 1908 I'd say "Nineteen Oh Eight".
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27th May 2012, 07:07 AM	#15
Ryokan Insert something funny here Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Norway Posts: 8,192	I say MMXII.

27th May 2012, 07:21 AM	#16
arthwollipot Observer of Phenomena Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: The other side of your screen Posts: 43,024	I say 2012.
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27th May 2012, 07:28 AM	#17
brodski Tea-Time toad Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 15,085	Originally Posted by hgc That reads to me like 2000.12. AND in a number denotes decimal/fraction. Only in modern American English, unless the Gettysburg address was given 80.7 years after the American revolution, or the King James bible claims the natural life span of man is 80.1 years. And who the hell would bake 4.2 blackbirds in a pie? :P
brodski Tea-Time toad Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 15,085

27th May 2012, 07:30 AM	#18
brodski Tea-Time toad Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 15,085	Originally Posted by Orphia Nay Same here. Twenty-twelve just sounds so lazy and wrong. How do you say 1912?
brodski Tea-Time toad Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 15,085

27th May 2012, 08:00 AM	#19
Elizabeth I Olympic Equestrian Wannabe Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Defending the Alamo Posts: 9,267	Up until 2010, I said "two thousand one," "two thousand two," etc., because "twenty oh one" just sounded awkward. But once we got to 2010, I started saying "twenty ten," etc.
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27th May 2012, 08:34 AM	#20
Vortigern99 Philosopher Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 5,020	I chose two-thousand-twelve because of the three choices that is the one I use the most. Usually, though, I excise the "two-thousand" entirely and just say "oh-twelve". This gets odd looks from people sometimes, and derision from my wife, but there is clearly an '0' right before the '12'.
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27th May 2012, 09:35 AM	#21
Saule Scholar Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 102	Two millennia and twelve
Saule Scholar Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 102

27th May 2012, 10:37 AM	#22
Mercurial Artism Scholar Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 108	2.012 x 10^3 Quote: Just one of those differences between English and American; 'and' after 'hundred' is the standard way to say numbers in the UK (and Australia, from the foregoing comments). For the year, I'd say either "twenty twelve" or "two thousand and twelve"; for the years 2000-2009, I'd only say "two thousand (and X)". You can't just say "Twenty Eight", for example, because it's ambiguous, and "Twenty Oh Eight" is a bit clumsy. Not sure why, though; for 1908 I'd say "Nineteen Oh Eight". That's funny. I've lived my whole life in the U.S., and I typically say "two-thousand-and-twelve" whether referring to the year or the quantity. All my rent checks have "X hundred and Y dollars" written on them.
Mercurial Artism Scholar Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 108

27th May 2012, 03:15 PM	#23
Soapy Sam NLH Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 25,885	Originally Posted by Mercurial Artism 2.012 x 10^3 All my rent checks have "X hundred and Y dollars" written on them. I'll bet your bank are getting tired of that.
Soapy Sam NLH Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 25,885

27th May 2012, 03:20 PM	#24
TubbaBlubba Knave of the Dudes Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Communist Kingdom of Sweden Posts: 7,414	The Swedish equivalents are just about as long, actually, "two thousand twelve" is one syllable shorter, and a lot of the consonants are swallowed. So that carries over, and I say two thousand twelve, the few times I say it. Also, we never shorten e.g. 1950 to "nineteen fifty", we always say "nineteen hundred and fifty". Likewise we always say "twenty hundred and twelve", never "twenty twelve", which is why it's longer than "two thousand twelve".
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27th May 2012, 04:21 PM	#25
IMST If Charlie Parker Was a Gunslinger, There'd Be a Whole Lot of Dead Copycats Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Seattle Posts: 6,130	I'm trying to say "twelve". Last century I only used the last two digits, so I don't see why that should change.
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28th May 2012, 01:36 AM	#26
Dave Rogers Bandaged ice that stampedes inexpensively through a scribbled morning waving necessary ankles Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: In a world lit only by fire. Posts: 17,894	I've been used to saying "twenty-one twelve" since 1976, so "twenty-twelve" comes quite naturally. Dave
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28th May 2012, 07:11 AM	#27
Horatius NWO Kitty Wrangler Join Date: May 2006 Location: Ottawa, ON, Canada Posts: 21,894	If I say "two-thousand-and-twelve" when trying to type the date, I inevitably add an extra zero, to get 20012...so I say Twenty-Twelve to avoid this problem. Because two thousand has lots of zeros, right? My fingers get ahead of my brain, then have to back up a step.
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28th May 2012, 07:28 AM	#28
Roboramma Philosopher Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Shanghai Posts: 7,096	二零一二年
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28th May 2012, 07:36 AM	#29
arthwollipot Observer of Phenomena Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: The other side of your screen Posts: 43,024	The "and" thing is a weird one. I would never say "two thousand twelve". It would always be "two thousand and twelve". It wouldn't be right otherwise. But every time I've examined it, I've never found any real good reason why. 41: Forty one 401: Four hundred and one 4,401: Four thousand, four hundred and one. 4,441,401: Four million, four hundred and forty one thousand, four hundred and one. It's so right, but it just doesn't make sense. There's no consistency!
	__________________ Jadey (in RvB game thread): I just want to take a moment to commend Arth on his role as Parasitic Alien Tumor. I think he really connected with the character and there were times when I forgot that he was just acting. That's the kind of talent that you can't teach.

28th May 2012, 09:52 AM	#30
hgc Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 13,018	Originally Posted by arthwollipot The "and" thing is a weird one. I would never say "two thousand twelve". It would always be "two thousand and twelve". It wouldn't be right otherwise. But every time I've examined it, I've never found any real good reason why. 41: Forty one 401: Four hundred and one 4,401: Four thousand, four hundred and one. 4,441,401: Four million, four hundred and forty one thousand, four hundred and one. It's so right, but it just doesn't make sense. There's no consistency! You're 99% of the way there. Just change your mind. Right now. It makes sense to say four hundred one, four million four hundred forty-one thousand four hundred one (no commas), etc. Do it! You'll like it!
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28th May 2012, 10:02 AM	#31
hgc Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 13,018	Originally Posted by brodski Only in modern American English, unless the Gettysburg address was given 80.7 years after the American revolution, or the King James bible claims the natural life span of man is 80.1 years. And who the hell would bake 4.2 blackbirds in a pie? :P Excellent point. What, really, is the and doing here, both for my 4th grade teacher and for Abraham Lincoln? It's the verbal plus sign. It's saying add them together. And so four score + seven really is 87 and four + twenty really is 24, but then that's more poetical, and I'm all in favor. But in more straightforward language, I'm pretty much going to use the verbal addition for verbalized fractions only, and string together an integer without and.
	__________________ Bowel-shaking earthquakes of doubt and remorse assail him and wail him with monster truck force. - Cake, The Distance Was there a second singer on the grassy Knowles? - Stephen Colbert Last edited by hgc; 28th May 2012 at 10:03 AM.

28th May 2012, 02:28 PM	#32
EventHorizon Atheist Tergiversator Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: New Jersey Posts: 2,847	011111011100
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28th May 2012, 03:10 PM	#33
Orphia Nay Penguilicious Spodmaster. Tagger Join Date: May 2005 Location: Ponylandistan Presidential Palace (above the Spods' stables). Posts: 28,381	Originally Posted by brodski How do you say 1912? Aw, crap.
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28th May 2012, 06:04 PM	#34
arthwollipot Observer of Phenomena Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: The other side of your screen Posts: 43,024	How do you say 1200? One thousand two hundred? Twelve hundred?
	__________________ Jadey (in RvB game thread): I just want to take a moment to commend Arth on his role as Parasitic Alien Tumor. I think he really connected with the character and there were times when I forgot that he was just acting. That's the kind of talent that you can't teach.