The Pronunciation of GIF
Steve Wilhite recently did an interview expressing discontent over how the vast majority of people pronounce GIF. He insists that as the creator of the format it must be pronounced as he commands, with a soft G like JIF.
What a pompous asshole.
Hey, dick. You can't reserve the right to dictate to everyone on earth how a term must be pronounced just because you coined it.
"Daughter" used to be pronounced "dafter" before it became "dawter." Things change. Language evolves. Get over it. (I wonder why "laughter" did not become "lawter," but I digress.)
I don't like that people use "text" as the past tense of "text," but I've conformed to what the masses have decided. Language is a democratic institution, not a dictatorship.
Pshh.
What a pompous asshole.
Hey, dick. You can't reserve the right to dictate to everyone on earth how a term must be pronounced just because you coined it.
"Daughter" used to be pronounced "dafter" before it became "dawter." Things change. Language evolves. Get over it. (I wonder why "laughter" did not become "lawter," but I digress.)
I don't like that people use "text" as the past tense of "text," but I've conformed to what the masses have decided. Language is a democratic institution, not a dictatorship.
Pshh.
12 Comments
dagComment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)
If you're really cool, you spell it "giph".
FantomasI've known for ages that it's supposed to be 'dʒɪf' but I'll always pronounce it with a hard 'g', mainly because jiff just sounds silly.
On top of that, it's actually an acronym for Graphics Interchange Format, which makes jiff even more silly.
gorillamanIt's probably a good measure of whether someone prefers to obediently follow a perceived authority or actually think logically and for themselves. I'm pretty sure if we could somehow get rid of all the people who pronounce it 'jif' the world would get better overnight.
lucky760^Exactly (x3).
What a colossal prick. He must be an all-around terrible person. I feel sorry for his mother.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.
probieI 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.
speechless says...LMAO! "I feel sorry for his mother" was awesome.
I love how passionate (and hilarious) you are about this. Don't stress over it though. We can all pronounce things the way we like. Just like Gaypegs and Peeings.
^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
What a colossal prick. He must be an all-around terrible person. I feel sorry for his mother.
MrFiskha
Barseps@lucky760..........Languages may evolve my friend, but (unfortunately) so too does grammar naziism ........(or should that be only one "i"??)
critical_dI prefer Skippy anyways.
antI wonder what VideoSift will sound like in 100 years.
FletchOh, jood jod, it's "JIF"! It always has been "JIF"! It always will be "JIF"! Jetting all anjry and calling the coiner names because you and shitloads of other people have been pronouncing it INCORRECTLY all these years is gust as joddamn silly as... jetting all anjry because you've been pronouncing it incorrectly all these years. Jee whiz!
@ant - "yewtoob"
antPoopPoop!
Oh, jood jod, it's "JIF"! It always has been "JIF"! It always will be "JIF"! Jetting all anjry and calling the coiner names because you and shitloads of other people have been pronouncing it INCORRECTLY all these years is gust as joddamn silly as... jetting all anjry because you've been pronouncing it incorrectly all these years. Jee whiz!
@ant - "yewtoob"
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