When I first became a contributor for NewsBreak several months ago, I was debating with my daughter whether it would be appropriate for me to embed a GIF of Arthur the aardvark into a news article.
I pronounced GIF with a soft “g” like the peanut butter, Jif. My daughter is of the school of thought that GIFs should be pronounced with a hard “g” like gift.
As a result, my daughter was confused and inquired as to why I included a peanut butter image in my essay about Arthur the aardvark.
As I was discussing the image file, I asked her what she meant by the peanut butter.
When we understood the miscommunication, we both burst out laughing.
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Pronouncing GIFs
I’m constantly baffled about how to pronounce GIFS. I habitually use the soft “g” rather than the hard “g.”
On both sides of the argument, there are many vociferous supporters.
The GIF has had a tremendous comeback in popularity in recent years, owing primarily to social media and people’s obsession with memes.
The hard g GIF is just the most logical, comfortable, and universally recognized way to say it. It’s the reason it’s in the Oxford Dictionary. It makes greater linguistic sense.
No other word in the English language utilizes a soft “g” sound in a word that begins with “g,” is followed by a vowel, and is followed by “f.”
However, it appears I was correct all along, as the creator of the gif, Steve Wilhite, declared to the NY Times:
“The Oxford English Dictionary accepts both pronunciations. They are wrong. It is a soft ‘G,’ pronounced ‘Jif.’ End of story.”
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I prefer to pronounce GIF with soft “g”. What are your thoughts on the correct pronunciation of GIFs?
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Credit: YouTube
I would like to shout out this piece by Amanda Laughtland, where she details her memories of her favorite sandwiches and the connections they have to the different people in her life.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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From The Good Men Project on Medium
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Photo credit: Houcine Ncib on Unsplash
