How to pronounce “2010″
For word wizards and the general public alike, the issue of pronunciation has reached feverish levels ever since the new year crept up on us all. How in the heck are we supposed to pronounce “2010″? Is it “two thousand, ten”? Or “two thousand and ten”? Or “twenty-ten”?
If you’re regular readers of Bloody Well Write, you already know my propensity toward anything AP Stylebook-recommended. This is no exception.
Happy twenty-ten to you and yours (photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/neldiogo/2775775175)
Via Twitter, the AP Stylebook has recommended it thus:
Attn. @…, @… and the others who’ve asked:
AP is pronouncing 2010 as “twenty-ten.”
Twenty-ten. There you have it. Happy new year, indeed.
Happy trails!
SAK
Tags: 2010, AP Stylebook, pronounce
Glad to hear it, because that is my preference! Happy New Year to you!
Does the AP stylebook cite a source, or is this just a quick poll of whoever was standing nearby?
Good question; I wish I had definite answer. Although I have the newest AP Stylebook, my brief thumb-through hasn’t turned up any mentions of the preferred pronunciation. However, I’m assuming (!) that they are choosing to pronounce 2010 as “twenty-ten” because it follows the typical pronunciation convention of years — splitting the large number into two numbers (e.g., 1967 is “nineteen sixty-seven” instead of “one thousand, nine hundred, sixty seven.” Just my guess, but it follows convention, and that tends to be how the English language morphs.