the year 2000

Guest   Sat Jan 05, 2008 3:01 pm GMT
Why is it that people add "the year" before 2000. People don't do this for other years, for instance no one ever says "the year 1997" or "the year 2004". So why do they say "the year 2000"?
furrykef   Sat Jan 05, 2008 5:34 pm GMT
One reason might be how it was often shorthand for the near future over the past few decades. I think it was common for predictions to say things such as, "In the year 2000, things will [blah blah blah]." It sounds a bit more dramatic with the phrase "the year" for some reason, and it just seems to flow a bit better. Since 2000 was no doubt the year most commonly used this way, this usage of "2000" with the phrase "the year" must have stuck.

Another, more recent, and probably more minor influence might be from the Y2K bug, where Y2K stood for "Year 2000".

- Kef
HR   Sun Jan 06, 2008 3:24 am GMT
"Kef" is right. The year 2000 has had considerable publicity due to Y2K. However, it is perfectly fine to say "in the year 1997."
Guest   Sun Jan 06, 2008 3:10 pm GMT
I've heard "in the year 1869" (for instance) a lot.
Sling   Sun Jan 06, 2008 11:08 pm GMT
People often say the year 1984 (or any year) as nineteen eighty four (19+84), but when they say the year 2007 as two thousand seven (2000+7), it becomes 20007, are they right?

Please enlighten me, many thanks to any answer.
furrykef   Mon Jan 07, 2008 3:27 am GMT
No, "two thousand seven" unambiguously means 2007 whether it's a year or another number. 20,007 is pronounced "twenty thousand seven" or "twenty thousand and seven".