Why do people refer to the year as 2,008 instead of "twenty-oh-eight"?

Question

The years use to be abbreviated, not they're not anymore.

For example people said "the year is nineteen-seventy-seven" instead of "1,977.

I don't understand what happened.

Answer 1

Partly because twenty-oh-eight doesn't roll off the tongue very well.

Partly because there was such a fuss made about the "year two thousand" (not the year twenty hundred), that people started saying, two thousand for the year--and it carried on to two thousand one, two thousand two, etc.

Answer 2

Quite simply, it just sounds better.

To refute your second example, 1,977 is a mouthful and 19-77 is just easy to say.

It's like how we say "big, red truck" instead of "red, big truck". It sounds less awkward.

Answer 3

2008 is probably easier to say than 20-0-8.  I believe when we reach 2010, people may start saying twenty-ten instead of 2,010, but I may be wrong.  When we changed to the new millenium, it was the year two-thousand, so the single-digit numbers seemed to follow that two-thousand number.  For what it's worth, 2000 -- whatever, and 20-whatever, still mean the same.  

Answer 4

OMG you r some kind of genius....seriously...i didnt even think of it like that till now.....im gonna start saying twenty-o-eight ^^

Answer 5

Here in BC where the 2010 Olympics are being much talked about, people are saying twenty-ten for that year. I think it's just a case of using what comes off the tongue more easily. Some people used to say nineteen and eight.