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A pointless question that keeps nagging at me...

A pointless question that keeps nagging at me... 68k 10 posts Aug 11, 2008 — Aug 12, 2008
As some of you may know, among my Macs is a Macintosh Centris 610.

Is it pronounced Centris six ten, or Centris six hundred and ten?

-Apostrophe

Or "Centris six-one-oh?" :)

I've always heard it as "Centris six-ten." My guess is that the pronunciation with the fewest syllables tends to win out. The "lazy speaker" hypothesis explains many (but not all) evolutionary trends in speech and writing.

Thanks Tomlee. :)

-Apostrophe

Typically models ending in 00 use the term "hundred", i.e.:

6100: sixty-one hundred

9600: ninety-six hundred

People using the term "thousand" are sometimes, but not always, thought to be inexperienced.

And models with 4 digits not ending in zeros typically are said in groups of 2:

5260: fifty-two sixty

6116: sixty-one sixteen

Often times Apple II series, except specifically the original Apple II, are said dropping the Apple. i.e.:

Apple IIGS: two G S

Apple IIe: two E

Apple II+: two plus

Apple II: Apple two

In before Oh ess Ecks vs Oh ess Ten flamewar

And models with 4 digits not ending in zeros typically are said in groups of 2:

5260: fifty-two sixty

6116: sixty-one sixteen
Not that I disagree, but as an observation, this is contrary to TomLee's lowest-syllable-count assertion... "Five two-sixty" and "Six one one six" would be shorter.

I bring this up only because I have 20 minutes to kill.

In Danish the number 450 is never realised as four fifty, it's always four hundred and fifty (firehundrede og halvtreds), and that's how I refer to my beloved Performa, in Danish and in English.

The four digit models I always refer to as xx hundreds.

Typically models ending in 00 use the term "hundred", i.e.:
6100: sixty-one hundred

9600: ninety-six hundred

People using the term "thousand" are sometimes, but not always, thought to be inexperienced.
With these PowerMac models I would tend to say "six one hundred" and "nine six hundred". Similarly for a 5200 I would say "five two hundred". Maybe that's just me...

You know, I think people from different locales may pronounce it differently. We're from all over the place, and I don't doubt things are said differently at different places. I didn't really consider this before posting.

And if in doubt, simply refer to it as the ekke ekke ekke f'tang f'tang olé biscuitbarrel Mac.

Except, maybe, in Finland.

mp.ls