How do you pronounce 2012?

Happy New Year everyone, and all the best for 2012. But how do you say 2012? It was still quite common to hear 'two thousand and eleven' during the past year, but it is my guess that you won't hear 'two thousand and twelve' very much this year. Instead, most people will say 'twenty twelve' - in the UK, anyway.

 

We tend to pronounce things in a way that 'sounds right'. And how are we to know that it's right? We get our cues mostly from what we hear. The BBC seems to have made the decision over a year ago to go for the 'twenty ten/eleven/twelve' pronunciation (although certainly last year a sizeable number of their guest interviewees said 'two thousand and eleven') and the BBC is a very influential organisation. Most of us have heard the phrase or slogan London 'Twenty Twelve' Olympics thousands of times over the last year or so, and are hearing it even more often now, so that, too, is ensuring that 'twenty twelve' just sounds more natural than 'two thousand and twelve'.

 

Indeed, one might wonder why we are having this discussion at all. We say without thinking 'ten sixty six' for 1066, and would say 'nineteen twelve' for 1912, never 'nineteen hundred and twelve' or 'one thousand nine hundred and twelve'. We always say 'eighteen-oh-one' and 'nineteen-oh-two', yet when we came to 2001, most people did not follow the previous pattern (twenty-oh-one) but said 'two thousand and one'. This is possibly because we were already familiar with the phrase 'two thousand and one' as a result of the very influential science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey (indeed, we'd had over thirty years to get used to the phrase as the film came out in 1968).

 

So, a Happy Twenty Twelve to everyone!

Comments

[John]

Happy Twenty Twelve to you also, Susan.

Over here, at least in New England, we tended to favour "Two Thousand _____ " from 2000 through 2011, although both were heard.

I do also believe that "Twenty Twelve" will be the preferred form for the forseeable future for the reasons you suggest.

[physicians list]

happy twenty twelve everyone! how say it doesn't matter. What matters is, how you will leave this year to its fullest. I wish us all a fruitful and happy year round!

[Virtual Linguist]

Thanks, both, for your comments.

[Picky]

For some reason I find myself saying Two thousand and twelve. I suspect it's a hangover from the fact that 2000 was Two thousand (it could hardly have been Twenty hundred – although, as those of us who spent the 2000 new year period in our company computer rooms waiting for the world to come to an end can testify, it was also Y2K).

But Twenty twelve is so much easier and more sensible that I shall try to adopt it (and, if successful, to peeve at those who don't).

[John]

Just when I thought "Two Thousand xxxxx" was more of an American construct, I caught a Sky Sports reporter last night using it.

I'm on board - "Twenty xx" it shall be.

[roulette en ligne]

Welcome 2012
I think it should be pronounced as "TWO-ZERO-ONE-TWO" :)

[Mario500]

I like saying “two thousand”, as in “two thousand twelve”; it sounds more futuristic and exciting. It could be good for your speech also.

Pronunciations such as “two thousand twelve” make this century different from previous centuries.

[Morag]

I don't think I've ever heard anyone say two thousand AND twelve; it's usually two thousand twelve. I get it that twenty twelve is more logical, but it's choppy and hard to say. Two thousand twelve is smoother off the tongue.

[Virtual Linguist]

Thanks for all of your comments.

[Jef. Lawrence]

I am going to be one of those old timey people who continue to say two thousand twelve, and two thousand thirteen, until two thousand ninety nine. Then, I'll start saying twenty-one oh one, and twenty-one twelve. Take that, young hipster whipper snappers!

[Virtual Linguist]

Good for you, Jef! Thanks for stopping by and reading.

[James Theisen]

I agree wholeheartedly with Jef. I was born in 1965. Or nineteen sixty five. I wouldn't say that I was born in one thousand nine hundred sixty five. But, now that we are in the two thousands, I think the proper way to say the years this century is two thousand ten, two thousand twelve, two thousand fifty three. And so on until we hit the year twenty one hundred. Not that many of us now living in their teens, twenties and older will be around at the next turn of the century.

Thank you for letting me get this off my chest. Whenever I hear a car ad on TV or a radio commercial that says twenty twelve, I quickly correct them, if people are around me or not, and say two thousand twelve. I know I'm right. Have a terrific TWO THOUSAND TWELVE!!!!

[Virtual Linguist]

Thanks for your comment, James. I fear you have an uphill struggle ahead of you, though!

[DanGo]

Its TWENTY-TWELVE. As our host said above, NOBODY says 1066 as one thousand sixty-six, for obvious reasons: clunky. too many syllables. not historically consistent.
And when we text, don't we use the least amount of characters possible? So why say the year LONGER than necessary?
Its TWENTY-TWELVE. End of discussion, as far as I'm concerned.