The Greatest Dispute of Our Time

[Iudex 1,945]

I come here to ask you a question, a question spawned from the fiery pits of a back and forth argument with several of my acquaintances. But first... Let me inform you of this question.

 

So. Upon the last ten years, the internet has clashed over the Great GIF Dispute.

Whether it is pronounced 'JIF', like the peanut butter brand, or 'GIF', with a hard G.

Take up arms and support your side!

We shall make this dispute final, once and for all!

 

Oh, also, it's jif.

[Lateon 589]

Hard g.

 

I don't care how it's supposed to be pronounced. If it were pronounced like the peanut butter brand, they would have put a j instead of a g, and found a different acronym to use.

[~StatesTheOblivious~ 1,795]

GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format. Therefore I think it should be pronounced with a hard G, since graphics is pronounced with a hard G as well.

[Standard User 2,127]

A friend of mine opened this can of worms a few months ago. Apparently the creator of this particular file format said it should be a soft g. However, I am more comfortable saying GIF with a hard g. It sounds cooler.

[Princess Lona 382]

I always say gif in my head, but I think I read an article once that said the creator of the file type says it should be jif. It doesn't really matter to me because the only time I ever talk about gifs is in writing on the internet.

[Scootalove 10,689]

Hard G, because when you pronounce graphics it usually comes out with a hard G.

[Blue Moon 6,341]

Soft "G"; that's the way I've always pronounced it. It seems more fitting to me, and a hard "G" sounds weird to me. Plus, even the creators of it pronounced it with a soft "G".

Edited December 16, 2013 by Blue Moon

[Demirari 454]

I do believe it should be pronounced with a hard G. Saying it in a soft g just sounds strange to me, like there needs to be a second f. It'll be like meioses I guess; people's preference.

[TheSupremeLeaderOfChaos 1,206]

Hard G. I do it that way because that is how I first heard it said, and it just sounds right to me. Plus, you pronounce Graphics with a hard G, so...

[A Blithering Div 247]

Soft g. We already say Giga instead of Jiga so lets bring this full circle.

[Blique 211]

Steve Wilhite, inventor of the GIF file format, states:

 

[An Old Head 4,816]

Steve Wilhite, inventor of the GIF file format, states:

 

There's a news article about it too.

 

It also makes more sense considering the letter placements. When a G is followed by an I, they're almost always pronounced with a soft G. Ginger, Giraffe, Gist, Giant, etc. There are a few exceptions like Give/Girl, but for me the natural thing to say when I see a "gi" is a soft G.

[Doctor XFizzle 8,669]

Soft G because then it sounds like Jif and I love peanut butter

[Serbon div 386]

To me it sounds better as hard G, but that's because you pronounce it like that in Serbian.

 

I know it's supposed to be a soft G btw.

[Just_Because 25]

I just avoid the debate and spell it out, the way you would say mp3.

[Callisto 1,877]

I say gif with a hard G, for no reason other than it just sounds better to me. Gif with a soft G just doesn't sound right, even though I know it is.

[ReverseFaller 2,483]

Everybody I know uses the hard G, and so do I. I guess I never really thought of pronouncing it as Jif. Interesting.

[long gone 8,929]

I pronounce it with a hard g. It just sounds better that way.

[PoisonClaw 8,164]

I've always pronounced it with a hard G, as do just about everyone I've ever heard. If I ever met someone who said it like it was J I would probably stare at them and go "you're saying it wrong".  

[Frith is Magick 1,471]

Not only was it intended to be pronounced "jif", but the i should soften the g. I admit to saying "gif", but technically speaking, "jif" is correct.

[GhostPony750 959]

I usually pronounce it with a hard "G".

 

Let's just wait for this word to be in the dictionary, so we can see how it's pronounced. Debating on this won't change anything lol.

[Golurk 468]

When the file format was being developed, the developers called them "jifs". So, technically, it's supposed to be a brand of peanut butter.

 

That said, "gif" sounds far better, at least to me. Sounds a lot less sticky, which is important for a picture file that's supposed to move. 

[Virulence 254]

I will always pronounce it with a hard g no matter what. Sounds weird with soft g.

[Skylar 1,641]

I have always pronounced it as Jif  

[DubWolf 17,263]

I like to pronounce it like jiffy; it's just a preference that I have (would you rather hard G,like  "gaahh I'm drowning!", or jiff, like a giraffe!). Although It does stand for Graphics....something lol, so hard G might be the proper way. We rarely say the word Gif in public, so indeed there is much debate.

Edited December 17, 2013 by Wingin'Wolf