You Say Tomatoe, I Say Tomato...

One of the folks on our Communications team regularly writes a training column on using proper grammar and language for those of us who are challenged in that regard! This month our official 'keeper of the English language' treads into some really deep water this month with her "Write it Right" (or for this month, "Say it Right"!) column:


"Two-thousand eleven?" "Twenty eleven?"


Happy New Year! 2011 has reignited a spirited (but good-natured) debate that's been simmering for the past year or so: What's the best way to pronounce the years of this century?


At the turn of the century (2000), "two thousand" was the popular choice over "twenty hundred," even though in previous centuries, people opted to say "nineteen hundred," "eighteen hundred" and the like. Of course, these were much easier choices to say than "one-thousand nine-hundred," etc.

In 2001, "two-thousand one" followed suit — some say in part because this pronunciation had been popularized years earlier by the film "2001: A Space Odyssey." It also eliminated the need to say "twenty-OH-one" or the archaic sounding "twenty-OUGHT-one."

The new decade


This convention of using "two thousand" continued throughout the decade. But in 2010, "twenty ten" began to gain support. The Associated Press — whose "AP Stylebook" is Pinnacol's go-to source for grammar and spelling guidelines — adopted it. And other advocates of "twenty" maintain that it should become the standard for the remainder of the century.

If you think about how most years are pronounced, this argument seems to have convention on its side:

1999 — nineteen ninety-nine


1776 — seventeen seventy-six


1812 — eighteen twelve


1492 — fourteen ninety-two


1066 — ten sixty-six


And of course, those of a certain age will always defer to the 1969 hit song "In the Year 2525" (pronounced "twenty-five twenty-five").

Those favoring "two thousand" like its more formal sound. Random postings on the Internet include:

"'Twenty ten' is like nails on a chalkboard..."


"'Twenty ten' is just another lazy tongue in action..."


Who will decide?


Ultimately, this debate won't be decided by linguists or grammarians, but by popular usage. Our guess is that "twenty" will ultimately triumph because it glides off the tongue easily (compare saying "twenty eleven" and "two-thousand eleven") and eliminates a syllable.

What's your preference? When referring to the year 2011, do you say "twenty eleven" or "two-thousand eleven"?