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Discussion Groups / British English / November 2004Oh, or zero.
I've noticed in the last few months that more people seem to be saying 'zero' rather than 'oh', when reading out a number. Logically 'zero' is more sensible, but I've got so used to hearing 'oh', that 'zero' sounds odd to me. Has anyone else noticed this?  SignatureDave Clarke >I've noticed in the last few months that more people seem to be saying >'zero' rather than 'oh', when reading out a number. Logically 'zero' is >more sensible, but I've got so used to hearing 'oh', that 'zero' sounds odd >to me. > >Has anyone else noticed this? I only use "zero" if there might be a confusion between the number and the letter e.g in a postcode. I wonder if the growth in computing has led people to habitually specify "zero" more often because the difference between the 0 and O characters matters to software. The long hand-written code number on my disabled parking badge consists entirely of the characters S (or it could be 5) 1 (or perhaps l or i) and 0 (or maybe O). Luckily, nobody ever asks me to give the number. SignaturePhil C. At 19:57:54 on Fri, 26 Nov 2004, Phil C. <philstoxicwaste@fsmail.net> wrote in <gj2fq0tjujkhu431cao5qh1f33fn612vbc@4ax.com>: >The long hand-written code number on my disabled parking badge >consists entirely of the characters S (or it could be 5) 1 (or perhaps >l or i) and 0 (or maybe O). Luckily, nobody ever asks me to give the >number. o silli. SignatureMolly Mockford I think I've been too long on my own, but the little green goblin that lives under the sink says I'm OK - and he's never wrong, so I must be! (My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not remain so for ever.) >> I've noticed in the last few months that more people seem to be saying >> 'zero' rather than 'oh', when reading out a number. Logically 'zero' is >> more sensible, but I've got so used to hearing 'oh', that 'zero' sounds odd >> to me. >> >> Has anyone else noticed this? > I only use "zero" if there might be a confusion between the number and > the letter e.g in a postcode. I wonder if the growth in computing has > led people to habitually specify "zero" more often because the > difference between the 0 and O characters matters to software. Living in a postcode where the digit in the last part is a '0', I can confirm this is a good reason. Once you've spent long amounts of time while some operative who has typed 'O" into a computer system says "hmm, funny, your address doesn't seem to exist" you get to learn that saying "zero" rather than "oh" helps. Matthew Huntbach > I've noticed in the last few months that more people seem to be saying > 'zero' rather than 'oh', when reading out a number. Logically 'zero' is [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Has anyone else noticed this? I know I say 'zero' more and 'oh' less often than I used to. I think it's because I'm getting into the habit of saying it generally, after having started using 'zero' in phone conversations. SignatureDoug -- brain under construction |
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