[Gerben42]

Quote

I wonder, in german it's zwanzighundert-zehn?

Zweitausend-zehn.

There is this famous football song around here that goes like '54, '74, '90 - zweitausend-zehn, expressing hope to win the world cup for the 4th time in South-Africa.

Strangely there is no song yet about 2009, when Germany will participate in the Bermuda Bowl for the first time...

[TimG]

skaeran, on Sep 1 2008, 07:37 AM, said:

Personally I prefer twenty-ten, in Norway we officially say totusenogti (twothousandandten) whereas in Sweden it's officially tjue-ti (twenty-ten).

There are official ways of saying the year? Made official by whom?

[Al_U_Card]

I vote for this decade to be called the o-o's (pronounced uh-oh) as in how you react when you hear about something during this decade...lol

[Al_U_Card]

En français c'est definitivement "deux mille dix".

[kenberg]

I asked my wife, withholding my own preference. It took her a while to get past the shock that I was spending time discussing this matter but then she went with "I prefer two thousand ten but I think most people will say twenty ten". An easy going person, my wife. I think I will follow her lead. I managed to avoid the intense debate about whether the previous millennium ended on December 31 of 1999 or 2000. We all survived the lack of consensus on that one.

[helene_t]

kenberg, on Sep 1 2008, 03:09 PM, said:

I managed to avoid the intense debate about whether the previous millennium ended on December 31 of 1999 or 2000.

I suppose the first milenum began 1st of january 0001 in historical time and 1st of january 0000 in astronomical time, so if a milenium always lasts 1000 years, it ended in 1999 for astronomers and in 2000 for historians.

Somewhat paradoxically, most historians would probably vote for 1999 and most astronomers for 2000. Just my guess.

I wonder if historians have adopted astronomical time by year 3000.

[Al_U_Card]

I had heard that the Bush(league) administration had decided to turn back time (to get more oil). (Or was that daylight savings?)

[skjaeran]

TimG, on Sep 1 2008, 03:13 PM, said:

skaeran, on Sep 1 2008, 07:37 AM, said:

Personally I prefer twenty-ten, in Norway we officially say totusenogti (twothousandandten) whereas in Sweden it's officially tjue-ti (twenty-ten).

There are official ways of saying the year? Made official by whom?

I guess Norsk Språkråd (Norwegian Language Council) decided this some years ago. Which does make it official. I'm not sure who decides in Sweden, but I think they've got something similar. It's a fact though that all Norwegians use one form and all Swedes the other.

[TimG]

skaeran, on Sep 1 2008, 10:41 AM, said:

TimG, on Sep 1 2008, 03:13 PM, said:

skaeran, on Sep 1 2008, 07:37 AM, said:

Personally I prefer twenty-ten, in Norway we officially say totusenogti (twothousandandten) whereas in Sweden it's officially tjue-ti (twenty-ten).

There are official ways of saying the year? Made official by whom?

I guess Norsk Språkråd (Norwegian Language Council) decided this some years ago. Which does make it official.

Is that a government agency? Or, something along the lines of Fowler or Strunk & White for English language?

[skjaeran]

TimG, on Sep 1 2008, 06:39 PM, said:

skaeran, on Sep 1 2008, 10:41 AM, said:

TimG, on Sep 1 2008, 03:13 PM, said:

skaeran, on Sep 1 2008, 07:37 AM, said:

Personally I prefer twenty-ten, in Norway we officially say totusenogti (twothousandandten) whereas in Sweden it's officially tjue-ti (twenty-ten).

There are official ways of saying the year? Made official by whom?

I guess Norsk Språkråd (Norwegian Language Council) decided this some years ago. Which does make it official.

Is that a government agency? Or, something along the lines of Fowler or Strunk & White for English language?

Yes, it's a government agency.

[Apollo81]

Surely years starting at 2020 will be referred to as "twenty twenty ...."

[Al_U_Card]

Undoubtedly, if you express them syllablically, the one that takes the least amount of vocal effort will likely be favored by the majority.