Names for the number 0 in English call the first decade of the 21st century, as "00s" is not usually pronounced as a word. Apart from side stepping the issue and calling the decade the "two-thousands" (2000s) there is no agreed wording, although in Britain and some other countries "noughties" was also used. There is a need to maintain an explicit distinction between digit zero and letter O, which, because they are both usually represented graphically in English orthography (and indeed most orthographies using Latin script and Arabic numerals) with a simple circle or oval, have a centuries-long history of being frequently conflated. However, in spoken English,
Proposals for an English Academy the broad historical picture from pre-Roman times; some specialised in common law developments from the twelfth century. However, others began a serious study of the early-medieval origins of English culture and identity. In so doing, they made considerable use of Anglo-Saxon manuscripts in both Old English and Latin to supplement still thin published sources. A large number of the contributions to their discussions were published by Thomas Hearne in the eighteenth century and these give several indications of how the antiquaries worked. For example, on 24 November 1599, the Society chose to discuss the antiquity, etymology and variety of English