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The 2010s decade (twenty tens, tens, teens) is the upcoming decade that will begin on January 1, 2010 and will end on December 31, 2019.

Pronunciation

Among experts and the general public, there is a debate as to how specific years of the 21st century should be pronounced in English. Although the majority of English-speakers say "two thousand (and) X"[citation needed] for any specific year post–1999, it is often suggested that the continuation of this type of pronunciation for the entire 21st century would be inappropriate or unnatural, given the alternative "twenty X" option.

Some academics[who?] suggest that since former years such as 1808 and 1908 were commonly pronounced as "eighteen oh-eight" and "nineteen oh-eight" eight, the year 2008 should naturally be pronounced as "twenty oh-eight".[1] Many experts[who?] agree that majority usage of "two thousand (and) X" is a result of influences from the Y2K hype, as well as the way "2001" was pronounced in the influential 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.[citation needed]

Some linguistic and academic experts[who?] have predicted that the "twenty X" pronunciation method will eventually prevail, but a time frame as to when this change will occur often differs. The year 2010 is suggested by many [citation needed] while 2011[1] and 2013 are popular as well. The latest time frames for change are usually placed at 2020[1] or 2101.

According to a recent press release, David Crystal, author of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, has predicted that the change of pronunciation to "twenty X" will occur in 2011, as "twenty eleven", explaining that the way people pronounce years depends on rhythm, rather than logic. Crystal claims that the rhythm or "flow" of "two thousand (and) ten", beats that of "twenty ten", but the flow of "twenty eleven" beats "two thousand (and) eleven".[1] Alternatively, Ian Brookes, editor-in-chief of Chambers Dictionary, suggests the change will occur in 2013 (as 2012 is often referred to as "two thousand and twelve"). And finally, The Times of London has suggested 2020 as a final time frame for the change, saying "If people can have “twenty-twenty” vision, then surely they should also live in the year “twenty twenty”.[1]

In addition, the Vancouver Olympics, taking place in 2010, are being officially referred to by Vancouver 2010 as "the twenty-ten Olympics".[citation needed] The London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006 has restricted the commercial use of the terms "Two Thousand and Twelve" and "Twenty Twelve", to protect the London 2012 Olympics.[2] Chicago 2016, which operates the official Chicago bid for the 2016 games, refers to the "twenty-sixteen games".

Some[who?] suggest that after the "twenty X" pronunciation for current and future 21st century years has taken hold, future references to early 21st century years will change accordingly from the previous "two thousand (and) X" method; thus, they say, future generations will refer to the date of the 9/11 attacks in the United States as September 11, "twenty oh-one."

In the population

  • The baby boomer generation (which "officially" includes babies born after the end of World War II in 1945 until around 1964) begins to reach the age of retirement in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. A rapid expansion of the number of retired persons due to the aging Baby Boomers is expected to have a drastic effect on the economies of these countries. For example, in the USA, Social Security and Medicare may be under strain. This expected surge in the distribution of retirement benefits has been dubbed the pension bomb.
  • Those people born in the 1960s and 1970s will most likely be approaching positions of power by the end of the decade (late boomers plus the so-called Generation X in North America). Generations Y and Z will be the dominant generations of youth in this decade, as Generations X and Y were the dominant generations in the 2000s.
  • By the end of the decade, there will probably be no living veterans from World War I, only a few left from World War II, and the last person born in the nineteenth century will almost certainly die during this decade.[citation needed]
  • World population is likely to reach around 7.5 billion by the end of the decade, representing a significant slowdown in growth. In Europe, the population is projected to decline during the decade.[3]

In science and technology

Sporting events

Fictional references

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Experts clash over millennium bugbear — The Times
  2. ^ London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006 British Crown 2006; Accessed February 22, 2007
  3. ^ United Nations, based on 2004 figures
  4. ^ IPv4 Address Report
  5. ^ "R.K. Pachauri re-elected IPCC chief". The Hindu. 2008-09-05. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ Thibodeau, Patrick (2008-06-10). "IBM breaks petaflop barrier". InfoWorld. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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