Long time readers will recall sometime in early 2016 I wrote an article titled “The Great GIF Debate” where I laid down my thoughts and points on the pronunciation of the “GIF” file format.
Last night I had a friend share a joke image regarding this pronunciation, and when another person chimed in on how they pronounced it, we had a fun “debate” about this, which consisted mostly of reaction gif’s being shared for comedic effect, rather than the typical arguing that would happen with such.
In this back and forth, however, I did take the time to sum up my previously mentioned thoughts on the file formats pronunciation, and I thought it would be worth sharing here.
The creator of format stated it’s pronounced “jif”. To say it should be pronounced otherwise is to deny the creator of something authority to name it, and as such, breaks any claim anyone can say on the pronunciation of anything.
The common counterpoint of grammar and pronunciation rules based on the root words are baseless – no rules apply to acronyms and as a result it’s purely up to the person who coined the term to say how it should be pronounced.
As such, “jif” is correct. This is not debatable. If a person wishes to pronounce it with a hard g they are wrong. They can say it that way all they wish, but it will not make them correct no matter how badly they claim the other form is somehow “wrong” for reasons that don’t make sense.
It’s really that simple. For details, again, I urge you to read my previous article on the subject.
Once again I reiterate that I do not wish to discuss or debate this. I’ve addressed every claim that can be made to the contrary of the pronunciation stated by the creator of the format – you have no new arguments and I’m not going to go in circles stating the same points to you I already have because you refuse are wrong on this.
It’s pronounced with a soft g, as in “jif” like the peanut butter. End of story.
Oh, and before you ask “why do you care so much” and all that junk, I have to ask again, why do people get so upset when they are told it’s a soft g? Why is it so important that it be pronounced the way you have been saying it? Don’t try to reverse things.