Pronunciation of the Names of Years

How do you pronounce the name of the first year of the 21^st century? Do you call it "Two Thousand One"? (If you think that it's pronounced "Two Thousand" then you're really off base!)

If you believe that the year 2001 should be pronounced "Two Thousand one", then let me ask you this: How did you pronounce a year like 1984? Did you call it "One Thousand Nine Hundred Eight Four"? Or did you simply call it "Nineteen Eighty Four"?

And how about the first year of the 20^th century? Was it called "One Thousand Nine Hundred One"? Or was it simply called "Nineteen Oh One"?

If 1901 was pronounced "Nineteen Oh One" then, to be consistent, 2001 should be pronounced "Twenty Oh One". (And similarly for 2002, 2003, etc.) Think about it...

Since the corresponding phrases ("Two Thousand One" vs. "Twenty Oh One", etc.) each have exactly the same number of syllables, everyone will probably continue using the inconsistent pronunciation ("Two thousand" something-or-other) for the next year or so. But it will be interesting to see what happens when the year 2010 comes around. Will it be called "Two Thousand Ten" (which equires four syllables)? Or will everybody suddenly revert back to the more consistent pronunciation of "Twenty Ten" (which requires only three  syllables)? Only time will tell...