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How are dates formally spoken? Are there any differences in the British and American versions?

yoozer8
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  • Related and possible dupe: What is the best format to use when writing out dates? ◊ How to write out dates correctly ◊ Date format in UK vs US – RegDwigнt Jun 06 '12 at 09:36
  • Why the down vote? I am new to the community. –  Jun 06 '12 at 10:18
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    econo, welcome to the community. I think your question may have gotten downvoted it could be viewed as "not constructive," which, in EL&U-speak, means: "a question that might solicit debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion," or is "overly broad or vague," or is one that exhibits "very little research effort." Please remember, though, downvotes are directed at the question, not the user, so the fact that your first question got a few downvotes shouldn't discourage you from hanging around, learning the ropes, and trying again. – J.R. Jun 06 '12 at 10:35
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    @RegDwightΒВBẞ8: Aren't all those possible duplicates about how to write and how to format dates rather than about how they are spoken? – Amos M. Carpenter Jun 06 '12 at 11:52
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    @aaamos: they are about how to write out the dates. In fact the top answer to one of them expressly states, "this is how we speak in English". Are you suggesting that if you write out "6/6/2012" as "June 6th, 2012", you would pronounce it not as "June 6th, 2012"? – RegDwigнt Jun 06 '12 at 13:13
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    @RegDwightΒВBẞ8: No, that's putting up a bit of a strawman ;-) I do maintain that there is enough of a difference between how we "write out" and how we "speak out" dates to warrant a separate question. Consider, for instance, the U.S. date notation article I linked to in a comment below, which points out that, while formats other than "month day year" are gaining in popularity in the States in written form, they are still uncommon in spoken AE (apart from one exception). – Amos M. Carpenter Jun 06 '12 at 13:41
  • @RegDwight: I don't think dates are necessarily spoken and written the same. Even if the order of writing and speech are linked, that doesn't completely cover other subtleties and nuances; e.g.: would I say "June six" or "June sixth" or "June the sixth" (all three preserve the order). When do I say the year, vs omit it? Visa may have received my check on May 31, 2012, but, when I ask "When was my check received?" Someone could simply say, "31 May" (plus, with a date like 5/31, what's to prevent someone from saying "the last day of May" on occasion?). Anyway, that's why I voted to close… – J.R. Jun 07 '12 at 10:25
  • Idibus Martiis MMXVI A.D. Only 44 BC kids will get this. – The Anathema Apr 13 '16 at 18:32

4 Answers4

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How are date spoken, formally? Are there any differences in the British and American versions?

From my experience, there are differences in the British and American versions.

Throughout my life, the way that dates have been spoken in the UK, has been the same as the way they have been written. That is, with the day, month and year; in that order. For example, the fifth of June 2012. That would normally be written as 5.6.2012. Sometimes, people add the day of the week, before the number of the day. For example, Tuesday the fifth of June 2012. That was always the way that was taught in schools and used in higher education, work and other activities.

That has started to change sometimes, in the last few years. People on television and the radio are the main ones who have started using the American date system. Not many ordinary people have.

Having met Americans and seen plenty of American writing on the internet and in publications, I know that they do it differently. The way that dates are spoken in the USA, has been the same as the way they have been written. That is, with the month, day and year; in that order. For example, June the fifth 2012. That would normally be written as 6.5.2012.

That's the basic way but, it's not the only way. I have noticed that there are abbreviations of this, used by some Americans. The use of these depend on who is speaking. Some Americans say dates without the word the. For example, June fifth 2012. I have even heard some change the pronunciation of the day number, so that it would be just the number. For example, June five 2012.

Tristan
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    “Two thousand twelve” alternates with “twenty twelve”. I perceive the former to be more formal, but that may be a figment of my own delusion. – tchrist Jun 06 '12 at 15:44
  • Yes. For years prior to 2000, people almost always say the century followed by the year within the century, e.g. "nineteen fifty-two". If the year is only one digit, we say "oh", like "sixteen oh four". If the year is zero, we say "hundred", as in "eighteen hundred". I'm hard pressed to tihnk of times when someone read the year 1914 as "one thousand nine hundred fourteen". But starting with 2000 we seem to have a new scheme of saying "two thousand" followed by the year within the century. Maybe people think "twenty hundred" sounds awkward. – Jay Jun 06 '12 at 16:21
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    You're right but, there's a detail worth mentioning. Saying “Two thousand twelve” is probably from American English. Here in the UK, people would say “Two thousand and twelve” or "one thousand nine hundred and fourteen". – Tristan Jun 08 '12 at 11:51
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    You make an important point about pronouncing years. They would normally be pronounced as the century number followed by the year within the century. 1952 would be pronounced as "nineteen fifty-two". As you mentioned, if the year number had only one digit, "oh" would be inserted before it. For example, 1902 and 1806 would be pronounced as "nineteen oh two" and "eighteen oh six". – Tristan Jun 08 '12 at 12:00
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Consider 30 March 1993.

British:

  • March the thirtieth, nineteen ninety-three

  • The thirtieth of March, nineteen ninety-three

American:

  • March thirtieth, nineteen ninety-three
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    I'm from the U.S., and I might say "March 30th", but I also might say "March 30" or "the 30th of March." As for the year, in spoken language, I might say "nineteen ninety-three" or simply "ninety-three." This all very much depends on the context of the conversation. – J.R. Jun 06 '12 at 09:42
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    @J.R. The question is specifically about formal speaking. –  Jun 06 '12 at 09:47
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    "Formal speaking" is a bit vague, don't you think? If I was giving announcements at a large conference, and announcing the date of next year's convention, I'd consider that formal speaking, but I still might use any of the variants I provided. – J.R. Jun 06 '12 at 09:49
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    @J.R. I have provided the most formal versions possible (because I think that's what the OP is asking for). PS- Why the downvote? –  Jun 06 '12 at 09:53
  • (because you asked): If you can cite a credible reference to substantiate why those versions are considered "most formal" for British and American English, then, not only will I reverse my downvote, but I'll gladly change it to an upvote. As it stands now, though, anyone reading your answer might be led to believe that, in the U.S., "March thirtieth" is considered to be more proper than "the thirtieth of March" in formal contexts, which I don't believe is the case. – J.R. Jun 06 '12 at 10:01
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    @J.R.: Are you really willing to open that can of worms about American dates (which have the medium value, followed by the smallest, and finally the largest value)? ;-) I think that's where rudra is coming from. In my experience, Americans use the "March thirtieth" form far more frequently than "thirtieth of March" (or simply "thirty March", as Australians would commonly say). – Amos M. Carpenter Jun 06 '12 at 11:49
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    @aaamos The point is that "the thirtieth of March" is perfectly normal for Americans to say formally or informally, whereas "thirty March" is quite rare either formally or informally, regardless of whether it is more common than "March thirtieth." – choster Jun 06 '12 at 12:11
  • @choster: My point was that my impression was that the form rudra mentions as American is far more common than the other. I'm not claiming to know for sure, but Wikipedia would seem to agree (and yes, I know it's not the ultimate source of truth). My other point was that the spoken form is probably due to the middle-endian written form used in the U.S., which (as I just found out to my surprise), was actually originally British but later abandoned there for the European format. – Amos M. Carpenter Jun 06 '12 at 12:40
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    I should perhaps also point out that my experience may well be out of date, as I just read that date usage is undergoing changes in the U.S. to avoid the ambiguity, improve sortability, etc. Although that page again mentions that 'speaking the "day month year" format is still rarely used, with the exception of the Fourth of July'. Interesting topic, you learn something new every day :-) – Amos M. Carpenter Jun 06 '12 at 12:49
  • Most formal? I believe my diploma has something like "One thousand nine hundred ninety-three" – GEdgar Jun 06 '12 at 14:06
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    @GEdgar Yes, exactly. My diploma reads “the seventeenth day of May in the year nineteen hundred eighty-seven”. That’s clearly the most formal of anything mentioned by anyone else but you. – tchrist Jun 06 '12 at 15:39
  • @aaamos If you use day-month-year in America, not only will you not be understood, but you will be understood *incorrectly, causing people to get the wrong idea. Yesterday was 6/5/12 here, and if you write 5/6/12, you are absolutely guaranteed to screw everyone* up by making them think you meant May 6th instead of June 5th. 5/6 is May 6th; you must write 6/5 if you want June 5th. Only today is exempt. :) – tchrist Jun 06 '12 at 15:41
  • @rudra If today is 2012-06-06, an American would say either “Today is Wednesday, June sixth, twenty twelve”, or else less commonly “Today is Wednesday, the sixth of June, two thousand twelve”. – tchrist Jun 06 '12 at 15:48
  • As an American, I can say that people here almost always say "March thirtieth", not "thirtieth of March" or "thirty March". You will occasionally see "thirtieth of March" on some formal document like a diploma or birth certificate. The same sort of document that will label the place where someone is suppose to sign, "I therefore and hereby affix my signature", rather than simply "Signed" or "Name". So if the question is for very formal usage, yes, but in everyday speech, no. – Jay Jun 06 '12 at 16:13
  • Whoa! These are lots of comments. And after going through the first few, my head is spinning. So, what is this debate all about? The American way of formally speaking/writing dates? I am sure there are many ways of saying it and my answers seems to be incomplete. But I have mentioned on of the most common ways of saying it. –  Jun 06 '12 at 17:19
  • @rudra: Did you mention one of the more common ways of saying it? Or one of the more formal ways of saying it? (Or perhaps one of the more common ways of saying it formally?) (btw, it is a vague question, and I didn't mean to prompt a debate this vigorous) – J.R. Jun 07 '12 at 10:02
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In formal, spoken British English, as far as I can find evidence, the date is spoken in various forms.

For example, this transcript of the Hutton Inquiry shows that the date is referred to as

  • Nth Month e.g. 4th July
  • Nth, e.g. 7th
  • the Nth, e.g. the 8th
  • Day Nth Month, e.g. Monday 7th July.

So in formal circumstances (in British English) there isn't a set way to say dates.

In formal American English, there seems to be a consensus, although I've only seen 2 transcripts so far, of Month N, e.g. April 23. The transcript I've seen are Galloway v The US Senate (I've not watched the video, that might be more enlightening) and U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing on Afghanistan.

Matt E. Эллен
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    That particular transcript doesn't show exactly how the date was said (unless it was "the 8th" where it's referring to a particular day as opposed to any other). I suspect that an "of" was inserted in speech which doesn't appear in writing. It's also possible that "4th July" in the transcript might have been said as "July the 4th". – Andrew Leach Jun 06 '12 at 12:31
  • @Andrew Which particular transcript? Why would you say a transcript is not an exact transcript? – Matt E. Эллен Jun 06 '12 at 12:32
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    Sorry: the Hutton Inquiry transcript. A transcript would not record how a date is said, because it's written down so it's subject to writing convention. It certainly wouldn't include "of" in a date if it were spoken; that's not important. The date is important. Different conventions may apply to US transcripts. – Andrew Leach Jun 06 '12 at 12:42
  • @Andrew I would expect a transcript to record exactly what is said. Otherwise, what's the point? Transcripts are meant to be word for word. If I could afford to get courtroom transcripts, I would expect them to be accurate too. – Matt E. Эллен Jun 06 '12 at 12:46
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    It does record what was said. A date was spoken, and recorded. It definitely will not record exactly how the date was spoken including the word of (or its absence). Sorry. – Andrew Leach Jun 06 '12 at 12:50
  • We shall have to agree to differ. – Matt E. Эллен Jun 06 '12 at 13:04
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2/2/1993

The normal way to say such a date in British English is “the second of February, nineteen ninety-three”.

However, a very formal way to speak such a date (almost never used) is “the second day of February, nineteen hundred and ninety-three”.

tchrist
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john
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