How to Pronounce GIF

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Greetings fellow GIF connoisseurs! Today, we will be discussing a topic that is near and dear to our hearts. So much so, that I’ve seen people get legitimately angry over this topic.

I can’t not include GIFs in this article.

So far, in this article, you have pronounced the acronym GIF at least 4 times. How did you do it? Did you pronounce it as “Gif” (with a hard G like “gift”) or as “Jif” ( with a soft G like the peanut butter)?

In this article, we’re going to analyze the arguments for both pronunciations and attempt to come away with a clear winner!

The Case for the Hard G

There are 3 primary cases to be made for the hard G pronunciation (as in “Gift”).

Gi- Is Almost Always Pronounced With a Hard G

The phonetic argument is that “Gi-” is typically pronounced with a hard G. This includes similar words like “gift”, “gizmo”, and “give”! There are no exceptions to this rule! It seems crazy that people don’t understand this! It’s enough to make you want to drink!

Wait… Wha..?

G Stands For Graphics

The acronym argument is that the G stands for “Graphics” (as in Graphics Interchange Format). Are you trying to tell me that it’s pronounced “jraphics”? I don’t think so! We pronounce acronyms based on the words that the letters stand for. For example, JPEG stands for (Joint Photographic Experts Group). This is correctly pronounced “Jay-Feg”.

Yay for consistency!

Everyone Says It That Way

The peer pressure argument is the strongest argument for the hard G pronunciation. A lot of people say it that way! Are you going to argue with the people? The people are always right. They would never steer us wrong. Ever.

The people have spoken! We’re all happy with both of these guys right?

The Case For The Soft G

There are two primary cases to be made for the soft G pronunciation.

All of the Cases For Hard G Have Exceptions

I’m not sure if you picked up on my very subtle hints above, but there are exceptions to each rule.

Gi- is typically pronounced with a hard G sound, but there are a plethora of words that use a soft G:

• gin
• giraffe
• ginger
• logic

Here’s a ginger in a giraffe mask (probably under the influence of gin).

GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format, but there is a long list of acronyms where the pronunciation is not based on the words the letters represent:

• JPEG (Not “Jay-Feg”)
• LASER (Not “Lass-Ear”)
• SCUBA (Not “Scub-ă”)
• SWAT (Not “Swăt” — Doesn’t rhyme with mat)
• SIM (Not “Sime”)

This is a JPEG of a SCUBA diver using a LASER.

But, the most compelling reason for pronouncing it as “Jif” is pretty straight forward.

Because Daddy Said So

Are you familiar with Steve Wilhite? Well, he is the father of the GIF. He created it. And, whether we like it or not, when you give birth to / invent something, you get naming rights. Well, Steve Wilhite says it should be pronounced “Jif”.

This is hard for us to accept. We live in a culture that is very subjective. In today’s world, everyone is encouraged to experience their own truth. But, the naming rights belong to Wilhite alone.

It doesn’t matter that the name “Dwayne” is typically spelled like this. That didn’t stop “Dwyane” Wade’s parents from spelling it however they felt like it should be spelled! We don’t agressively yell at him, “Your name is Dwuh-Yane Wade”!

No seriously… That’s his name.

Besides, it’s not like we hold other products to these hard pronunciation standards. Or do you pronounce Nike like “Bike”? No? I didn’t think so.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, it seems clear that we have to declare the winner as the pronunciation given by Steve Wilhite (a.k.a. “Jif”). You don’t have to agree with him. You don’t even have to pronounce it that way! But, you should be able to recognize that this is the correct pronunciation even if you choose to pronounce it differently.

Thanks for reading! Please clap and go angrily comment about how wrong I am!