I'm guessing that they would claim he said "corner curio cabnet", which is a normal English pronunciation but technically not correct. (funny to me that on dictionary.com they say it should have been pronounced kab-UH-nit, not kab-i-nit as the second guy said, so they aren't consistent and prove it instantly.) Normally, from my limited experience watching WOF, they would ask you to say the word again if it was a matter of pronunciation, but for $1 million I guess they just say "whew!" and screw you.

I think this a case of a flawless, native English pronunciation from a poor Engrish script sent through the South Korean marketing team at Samsung. At least they got English actors!

"Don't try this at home" the Dutch guy says. The question then becomes what is the proper English pronunciation?

Pronunciation: /ˈʃiːp(ə)l/
Noun
Derogatory

People compared to sheep in being docile, foolish, or easily led: "By the time the sheeple wake up and try to change things, it will be too late."

Origin:

1940s: blend of sheep and people

And this is, in my experience, what 90% of the world's human population is like. I would prefer it if wasn't true, because I'm lonely and I'm tired of always having to watch what I say so I don't wind up accidentally offending half the people in the room just by using a word they've never heard before (but which I think is a perfectly ordinary word). I'm tired of never being allowed to be interested in, or enthusiastic about, something that requires you to actually use your brain, and I am tired of the fact that noone I meet - not even teachers who've studied at an accredited university - seems to have even the most basic understanding of science, and for the life of them can't understand why an emotional argument holds less water than a rational one.

I'm really far from being a genius, and frankly, I am not very arrogant or pretentious. I try hard to ensure that anybody who speaks to me feels at ease, and that they feel like the things they say to me are being heard and understood. Because honestly, that's all I ever ask for - a conversation between equals. However, I am just dead fucking tired of living in a society that just seems to sink deeper and deeper into stupidity. It's as if I'm stuck in front of a great, frothing wave of stolid ignorance, and there is just no escape from it.

So, yes. Sheeple. Everywhere. There's just no getting away from them.

Amazing! Not only can he speak them but his pronunciation is excellent (at least in all the languages he spoke that I'm familiar with). Keep it up, Tim!

Huzzah for old farts making a non-issue out of a younger culture they know nothing about!

I don't know anyone who has said "LOL" outloud. I've heard a few people say "lol" (full pronunciation, rather than each letter). I see the point of the joke, but it didn't strike me as funny, and it seems like making a big deal out of nothing to me. People type "LOL" all the time, but rarely "Hahahaha!". How is that not just as viable a complaint?

Oh cultural evolution. Fuck you.

LOL I checked the pronunciation given on google translate and I can see how you got your variation. A better phonetic version would be sosyed but then whenever I try to speak to a Russian person I get a lot of giggles.

I read an article that his pronunciation sprang from shortening it to "jif" instead of saying the letters independently, ie. "jee-eye-ef", since we all say the letter g with the soft g.
If that's his reasoning, we all need to correct him because it's actually "jife", as in life. So he's saying it wrong too.

^Exactly (x3).

The most dumb-shit thing about him is there's not a single shred of logic behind his pronunciation. He just demands everyone pronounce it that way "because I said so."

There's no debate about it. There's only one logical, meaningful way to pronounce it and most everyone pronounces it that way.

“The Oxford English Dictionary accepts both pronunciations. They are wrong. It is a soft G, pronounced jif. End of story.” —Steve Wilhite

Well prepare to get irritated!!

During Tuesday's annual Webby Awards ceremony, GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) creator Steve Wilhite put to rest the question of the animated images' correct pronunciation. The simple answer: Much like the peanut butter brand, it's a soft "G."

http://www.realtechworld.com/gif-creator-sparks-outrage-by-revealing-that-its-pronounced-jif-inquirer/

No way. It's definitely J-Peg and P-N-G. However, it could just be a difference of accents that results in different pronunciation. (Though I still can't see why J would be pronounced Gay!)

I've heard people pronounce URL as "Earl" or "Yural." I always say U-R-L.

It's fun how the lack of verbal communication can lead to so many conflicting interpretations of the written word. This was much rarer when it was just books and newspapers.

Reminds me of someone (Teresa Strasser) who did a lot of reading when young but not much talking. In a classroom discussion she confused everyone by saying something was "in-NAWV-uh-tiv" because that's how she'd always read "innovative" in her head.

@blutruth - These are my sentiments exactly. It matters not what his opinion of the pronunciation is/was. Most people who use the term pronounce it with a hard G.

It's GIF as in Graphics, not JIF as in Giraffics.

I was under the same false assumption as you, but the correct pronunciation of GIF is like the brand of peanut butter (JIF) according to the guy who created the format. --Source

His pronunciation of his own electorate is appalling. Other than that, well done.