GIF vs. JIF | Mashable Explains

There's a good chance you've been saying GIF wrong all of these years.

The latest video in the Mashable Explains series takes a look at one of the most intense debates over a word ever.

Hosted by Samantha Murphy
@HeySamantha

Edited by Armand Valdes
@ArmandTweets

Mashable is the leading independent news site for all things tech, social media, and internet culture.

Mashable is the leading independent news site for all things tech, social media, and internet culture.

[JeffDeBoer]

I will NEVER accept that it's a soft G. I will fight this until my last breath.

[guigacs]

Since it's an acronym I think the correct way to pronounce it would be to pronounce each letter individually: G-I-F.

[CattJolynn]

I used to think it was silly to pronounce Gif with a soft G, because the G stands for Graphics which has a hard G sound.  It just didn't made sense to me.  So I went searching for a logical reason that Gif would be pronounced Jif, and I actually found it.  

In the rules of grammar, when the G is followed by A, O, or U, it is usually pronounced with a hard G, ie: Gas, Gone, Guy.  But if it's followed by E, I, or Y, it is typically pronounced with a soft G, ie: Germ, Gin, Gym.  So, pronouncing Gif like Jif is technically grammatically correct.

There are some words with Gi that are pronounced with a hard G, such as Gift and Give, but those are the exceptions to the rule.

I don't know if I'll change the way I pronounce it because it has already become such a habit to pronounce it Gif, but I thought I would just provide a logical explanation on why the creator probably decided to pronounce it Jif.

[davebirney]

im going to keep calling it gif with a G until i die

[Nusma]

The thing with language as a form of communication and conveying information is that even the most utter bs that comes out of your mouth is correct as long as the listener understands what you wanted to say.

[ghawk]

GIF [gif] with a hard "g" as in "get" or "git". Because inventing a thing doesn't give you dominion over how language works

[kakol]

Anyone who pronounces "GIF" with a hard G simply does not understand computer programmers (and any programmers who still insist on this silly pronunciation are simply unfit). No *decent* coder would pass up an opportunity to inflict a horrid pun on the world. And seeing as peanut butter is one of the principle three programmer foods (the other two being Pepsi and nacho cheese Doritos), the reference is immediately obvious.

The "acronym theory, " that a hard G should be used because it's "Graphics" and not "Jraphics, " simply does not hold water. If acronyms were always to be pronounced from their source words rather than as an independent new word, then by this very arrangement, "JPEG" would be pronounced "JFEG."

[Cyphlix]

"jraphics interchange format"

Steve Wilhiter is a tool. There, I said it.

[LukanSpellweaver]

The guy who invented it can say it's pronounced jif all he wants, English does not bend to his whim.
It's gif.

[montenague]

The key here is you said "contrary to linguistics" and well, I am going to side with correct linguistics here. I care not what the creator said, it has a hard g.

[AIRburst]

I think this is a regional dialect problem. Most people speaking American English pronounce things differently based on where they are from.

I live in Western Washington, so my regional dialect is influenced heavily from a mix of Midwestern, Californian, Canadian, and native american accents and pronouncements. Everyone I know from here pronounces it "ghiph".

[Tasoq]

It makes more sense to have it pronounced with a hard G imo

[critterwyatt]

I really love Giraffics of Giraffes, they are much better than Graphics of Grass.

[mennonis]

since its an abreviation, i dont think the creator can choose how its pronounced

[SthaBest]

but saying jif doesn't make any sense. graphic, not jraphic. 

[MisterDoge]

as the first word is graphical, with a hard G, it is more sensible to pronounce it with a hard G. The creator doesn't write the rules of the english language. Since it isn't a name or word he can't decide.

[gargaduk]

"There's a good chance you've been saying GIF wrong all of these years."
Ironic.

[Farroki]

According to it's neither.  It's pronounced:  "GIFE".

[wheatherd]

Jif.

Citing that its odd because it means 'graphic' is strange considering if you found out it meant 'graphic' you would be seeing it underneath its pronunciation.

Basically I'm saying I think people are only using the 'graphic' logic as an after-thought to boost their argument rather than of initially had one to begin with.

[PrecambrianLullaby]

-_- "contrary to linguistics"