Want to stir up the conversation at your next dinner party? Skip topics like religion and politics, and try asking people how they pronounce "GIF."
For the uninitiated, a GIF is a type of image file shared online. Its distinguishing feature is the ability to combine several image frames into a single file, creating the illusion of animation. You’ve probably received one via email, text, or chat, and laughed. The pronunciation, however, is no laughing matter among designers, marketers, and web-savvy folks.
The Contenders: "Jiff" vs. "Giff"
In one corner, we have "GIF" pronounced with a soft “g” sound, identical to Jif peanut butter. The founder of the GIF file type — short for Graphic Interchange Format — stated back in 2013 that he intended for the pronunciation to be with a soft “g,” which incited thousands of tweets on either side of the matter. If the founder's intent matters, consider that a tick in the “jiff” column.
On the flip side, we have proponents for the hard “g” sound, as in "gift" (without the “t”). If popularity counts for anything, the hard “g” is the most widely used pronunciation.
Why the Hard “G” Is Correct
Words that start with the letter “g,” followed by a vowel and then the letter “f,” are consistently pronounced with a hard “g,” such as "gaffe" or "guffaw." In fact, most single-syllable words that start with a “g” use the harder sound — like "gas" or "gone." And given that the word "gift" is closest to "GIF," it tracks that they should sound the same.
Some people also argue that because the “g” stands for a hard “g” word (graphic), it should play a role in the pronunciation (although that’s not accurate for all acronyms).
Why the Soft “G” Is Correct
First, the founder’s intent was to pronounce it as "jiff," based on the catchy Jif peanut butter slogan — “Choosy developers choose GIF.”
Secondly, GIF is an acronym, not an initialism. With acronyms, the abbreviation is pronounced as a single word, like NASA, and often takes on a more sonorous sound that isn’t linked to the full words.
Also, while single-syllable “g” words are often pronounced with a hard “g,” there are exceptions — "gem" or "gin" are two examples of a soft “g.”
And the Winner Is...
A hard take on GIF follows the patterns of English most accurately, and it is the most-adopted pronunciation around the world. But the soft “g” version admittedly sounds more fluid and more natural, even if, when looking at the abbreviation, it doesn’t totally track. The good news? The OED accepts both pronunciations. So if your dinner guests end up in a draw, feel free to move on to a light-hearted chat about whatever issue is trending on the nightly news.
Photo credit: Tim Mossholder/ Unsplash