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How'll we refer to the 2000s?
We know other decades as the seventies, the eighties, the nineties...
But this decade will be remembered as... - the two thousands? - the naughts/naughties? - the o's?
The first decade of any century is called the "ots" but most people still never talk about it as a decade. They are more likely to use phrases like "turn of the century" and "beginning of the century" when describing this time period instead.
How can it not be a decade? A decade is a period of ten years.
English is such a fun language. I like calling this decade "the noughties" (the naughties).
By the way, the word is spelt "nought."
And then there's the word "naughty", so I call this decade "the noughties."
>>By the way, the word is spelt "nought." <<
"nought" is a variant spelling of "naught".
>>I assume you mean "aughts" by "ots"<<
By the way, do people with no caught-cot merger make a distinction in pronunciation between "aughts" and "ots"?
<<By the way, do people with no caught-cot merger make a distinction in pronunciation between "aughts" and "ots"?>>
Yes, they'd make a distinction in pronunciation between ''aughts'' and ''ots''. There's no word ''ots'' though.
"aughts" here is /Ots/ -> [Ots] wheres *"ots" would probably be /Ats/ -> [Ats], were it a real word here.
We are definitely in the "noughties" by definition..... "naughties" by inclination.
The year 2000 was twenty hundred, and NOT the year two thousand. No sane person would refer to the previous year as one thousand nine hundred and ninety nine would they? Let's get some logical reasoning working here. Today is the second of January twenty o' six (or twenty hundred and six). The London Olympics will be held in twenty twelve. I will receive a one hundred years' birthday card from King William V on the seventh of April twenty eighty two....if we are both still extant on that date. Wills will be a ton up in that year as well.... so will he send a congratulatory card to himself?
<The year 2000 was twenty hundred>
I would think of 'twenty hundred' as '20,000' not 2000. Doesn't apply to eg. two hundred (200) so that wouldn't be logical. But hey its life nothing is logical its another hump on the road.
It was the year two-thousand here in the U.S., Damian. This year still follows that format (two-thousand six). I would guess that we Americans will start saying it the other way in 2011 (which would be twenty-eleven) because it's faster and easier than saying two-thousand eleven.
A hundred contains two noughts
A thousand three noughts 1 hundred = 1+00 One plus two noughts 20 hundred = 20+00 Twenty plus two noughts 2000 = Twenty hundred = two thousand Or have I hit yet another hump in the road? Incidentally, humps in the road in the UK are called sleeping policemen (traffic calming measures intended to slow down drivers' speed). LOL
Guest,
"Twenty hundred" means there are twenty groups of one hundred, which equals 2,000. |