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I understand that in speaking (if we are talking strictly about formal rules) it is more common to use ordinal numbers and not cardinal numbers. However, it has come to my attention that people these days use cardinal numbers as well (or at least are starting to). For example, in this video from the US National Archives at about 14:01, I can hear him say July 1 (one, not first!)! Again, here is a video from "Talks at Google" where you can hear the exact same phenomenon (May ONE, not FIRST.) Lastly, here is Joe Biden saying May 1 as "one", not "first". I've never thought about it before, but recently, I've been paying attention to some podcasts I listen to, and I can hear cardinal numbers when they announce the date as well! Is the English language changing again? Do you personally use cardinal numbers when speaking the date, and is it wrong to do so?

meepyer
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    I answered a question about numbers being used for the month and many of the examples from there apply here too, since when that happens the day is almost always a cardinal number too. – Laurel Mar 22 '22 at 22:56
  • Thanks! I appreciate it. I have definitely noticed that too. What about month (like the month name itself, not the number) + cardinal number like in the examples above? – meepyer Mar 22 '22 at 22:59
  • Once you notice something once, it's common to keep noticing it whenever it happens, while ignoring cases where it doesn't happen. This is called frequency illusion or more entertainingly the Baader–Meinhof phenomenon. You say that it's more common to use the ordinal, but that doesn't preclude people sometimes using the cardinal, and maybe you're just noticing the less common times. In any case, soliciting opinions or polling isn't what Stack Exchange is for, although the rest of the question may be valid. – Stuart F Mar 23 '22 at 15:49
  • That’s a fair point @StuartF. – meepyer Mar 23 '22 at 17:26
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    I suspect this is more common when people are reading text that has the date written as "May 1", and less common in extemporaneous speech. – Barmar Mar 28 '22 at 21:19
  • I've also noticed this. – meepyer Mar 28 '22 at 21:51

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The examples you provided all relate to the first day of the month, and it has become acceptable to say May One." However, I don't believe that applies to any other day in a month. For example, you would not say May Fifteen, but you would say "May Fifteenth."

If you were reading a date formatted like 15-May-2022, you might read this as "Fifteen May," but that's because you're reading something verbatim. Otherwise, you would refer to the date as May Fifteenth.

swmcdonnell
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    Do you have a source for this? – meepyer Mar 23 '22 at 01:27
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    I have another source here where he is clearly saying August "eighteen", not eighteenth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkQqihYdjuk&t=144s . Here is a second one with August "eighteen". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj7U2IVR4Jg&t=4358s – meepyer Mar 23 '22 at 01:32
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    I always expect dates like "March the seventh". The short form 7/5/2022 I would expect to be read as "the seventh of the fifth, twenty twenty-two". This way of reading dates only works for UK date format of course - the 7th month of the fifth day makes no sense at all. – Peter Mar 23 '22 at 03:45
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    @Peter The order DMY isn't used only in the UK; several other countries use it, too. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_format_by_country – Rosie F Mar 23 '22 at 07:44
  • @Peter I still remember how odd it seemed (to my US-raised ears) the first time I heard Tony Blair say "September the eleventh." The use of "the" was not unknown to me, but I'd heard so many people saying "September eleventh" that it just stuck out a bit (plus he was obviously trying to evoke FDR's famous "December seventh" day of infamy speech, so he declaimed the date with particular emphasis). But I don't think I've heard "the seventh of the fifth"; I'd expect "seven five, twenty twenty-two." – phoog Mar 23 '22 at 11:33
  • @phoog I'd expect the robotic 07 05 2022 (Oh seven - oh five - twenty - twenty-two) or 'the seventh of May, twenty - twenty-two. UK. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 23 '22 at 15:48
  • @EdwinAshworth would you expect the "oh" even if it is written 7/5/2022 rather than 07/05/2022? – phoog Mar 23 '22 at 18:34
  • @phoog In 'technical' English, precision is most important, and inclusion of the zeroes compartmentalises more crisply and thus perhaps more satisfactorily. Military times have the 'hundred' misnomer for hours; this is also crisp. // As a compromise, I'd hardly blink on hearing 'seven - five - twenty-two' in the UK. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 23 '22 at 19:13
  • do people ever say “May seven”, and not “oh five” for May? – meepyer Mar 23 '22 at 20:38
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    @meepyer I often hear dates on Australian TV and radio using the format "May seven". – Peter Mar 24 '22 at 22:56
  • Thanks Peter. Now I’m wondering if it’s a broadcast thing, because I have noticed it as well in the podcasts I listen to. – meepyer Mar 25 '22 at 04:26
  • It's definitely quicker to say "May seven" than "The seventh of May" so it might be more used in contexts where time is of the essence, rather than casual chat. – Stuart F Dec 20 '22 at 10:21