Pronunciation Policing

Now that we’re in 2014, I notice that there’s a marked uptick in the number of people pronouncing it as “Twenty Fourteen” instead of “Two Thousand Fourteen”.

At last, our long, national nightmare may be approaching an end!

Let’s review:

When did Columbus sail the ocean blue? “Fourteen Ninety-Two” (not “One Thousand Four Hundred Ninety-Two”, right?)

When was the Declaration of Independence signed? “Seventeen Seventy-Six” (not “One Thousand Seven Hundred Seventy-Six”, right?)

When did Lincoln deliver the Gettysburg Address? “Eighteen Sixty-Three” (not “One Thousand Eight Hundred Sixty-Three”, right?)

When did we land on the moon? “Nineteen Sixty-Nine” (not “One Thousand Nine Hundred Sixty-Nine”, right?

So, why do so many people continue to refer to last year as “Two Thousand Thirteen” and this new year as “Two Thousand Fourteen”?

I understand that when “Nineteen Ninety-Nine” rolled over to “the new millennium” (which didn’t really happen until 01-Jan-2001, but that’s a whole different anal and pedantic rant!) that it was more reasonable to use “Two Thousand” than something like “Twenty Aught Aught”. (Although I sort of had a fondness for “Twenty Double-Naught” — it had sort of a steampunk penache to it.)

For the next nine years, I was okay with “Two Thousand One” through “Two Thousand Nine”. There were those who argued for “Twenty Oh One” through “Twenty Oh Nine”, or “Twenty Aught One” and so on. While they were technically correct, they were definitely in the minority. I found that I could go either way on this one. I think I started these nine years doing more of the “Twenty Oh One” and finished it doing mostly “Two Thousand Nine”. It was a subtle transition, and I heard more and more people doing the same.

Besides, everyone had already spent the previous twenty-two years referring to that bizarre (and wonderful) Kubrick film as “Two Thousand One”.

But when we got to 01-Jan-2010, why did so many people continue to go with “Two Thousand Ten”? At that point, “Twenty Ten” just sounded so, so much better and more natural. Besides, everyone had already spent the previous twenty-six years referring to that non-Kubrick film as “Twenty-Ten“. (I’ll confess, I really liked “2010: The Year We Made Contact”, but I might be in the minority on that one.)

For four years now I’ve wondered why more people aren’t switching to the more conventional pronunciation. (I won’t argue “correct” vs “incorrect”. People talk the way they talk and the dictionary makers have to follow them, not lead them. Writing on the other hand…) Slowly I’ve seen more people on television and more folks in real life using it, but I’ve really been amazed at how slow the transition has been.

Finally in the last week or so of “2013 Year In Review”  shows and “What To Look Forward To In 2014” shows, plus all of the parades and holiday football games and so on, I think that I’ve started to hear almost a 50/50 split. I haven’t been keeping a scorecard, but I have a sense that the tide may have turned.

And then of course, there was a Chevy Truck ad that I saw on television yesterday that uses both in the same ad. Bravo, Chevy, bravo!