There is some confusion swirling around how to pronounce properly the upcoming new year.

 

The National Association for Good Grammar (NAGG) has decided to step in and decree that next year should be pronounced twenty (20) ten (10) and all subsequent years should be pronounced as twenty (20) eleven (11), twelve (12).

 

We have come to this decision based on the historical fact during the last century all years were spoken as nineteen (19) XX and not one thousand nine hundred and XX. Previous centuries were similarly pronounced as eighteen (18), seventeen (17), and so forth. Twenty follows nineteen.

 

10 years ago, no TV anchor said, "Good morning. Today is February 8 One thousand nine hundred and ninety seven" or today is nineteen hundred ninety and seven. Everyone said nineteen ninety seven and I bet today when everyone in the world writes the date on a letter or check, they write 2009, not 2000 and 9. So, millions write 2009, yet millions do not say twenty-aught-seven – or even, twenty zero seven or at the very least 20 oh 9.

The last time the world went from a 900 year to a zero year, as in 975 to 1001, there were not any problems. Everyone said ten.

Remember the Battle of Hastings? We all learned in school that the Battle of Hastings was in 1066. (ten sixty six), not one thousand and sixty six..

During the last year, we at the National Association for Good Grammar maintained that the proper way to say the year was twenty aught 9. We didn't have much luck with that catching on, but now, an opportunity arises that going forward we set the record straight.

Enjoy the new year and remember, 2010 is not the first year of the next decade, it's the last year of the current decade.