Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Thursday February 27 2020, @10:11AM   Printer-friendly
from the it's-not-geef-either dept.

Peanut butter brand Jif has put forth their opinion on how to pronounce GIF.

From their website(warning, lots of animated GIFs):

When is it OK to call a Gif a "Jif"? Never.

Jif® is peanut butter. GIFs are
looping animations.
SNACK ON THAT.

That would be all well and good except for just one thing. The person who actually created the format, Steve Wilhite, explicitly stated GIF was to be pronounced with a soft "G"!

From a 1997 edition of the NetBITS newsletter, down near the bottom of the page appears:

It's "Jiff" and I Don't Want to Hear Another Word -- Logic may dictate the "g" in GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) is pronounced hard, like gift or gefilte fish, but that didn't stop dozens and dozens of readers from offering opinions, many of them hilarious.

However, several people wrote to say that they either worked with folks at CompuServe or read the original GIF specification, all of which specified a soft "g". None of us at NetBITS understand why we haven't seen the definitive word before, so here it is. Charlie Reading <charlier@kreber.com> writes:

I worked with the creator of GIF (Steve Wilhite) when I was still employed by CompuServe. Steve always pronounced it "jiff" and would correct those who pronounced it with a hard G. "Choosy developers choose GIF" (spinning off of a historically popular peanut butter commercial).

An article at Ars Technica actually queries professional linguists in pursuit of the ultimate answer.

See this Sesame Street-like GIF which mentions popular words that start with a soft G such as Giant and Giraffe.

Lastly, here is a short video (1m18s) with what is quite possibly the strongest affirmation of all. David Karp presents Steve Wilhite with the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award at the 17th Annual Webbys where Steve dramatically uses a GIF as his acceptance 'speech' and sets the matter straight once and for all.

Not that it settles anything. The debate will rage on like vi vs. Emacs.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by FatPhil on Thursday February 27 2020, @12:18PM (19 children)

    by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Thursday February 27 2020, @12:18PM (#963437) Homepage
    I love the absurdity of idea that the inventor has to, by definition, be right. That's like saying George Lucas was right about every directorial decision he ever made.

    #MeGee
    --
    Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +3  
       Insightful=3, Total=3
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   5  
  • (Score: 5, Funny) by takyon on Thursday February 27 2020, @12:45PM (4 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday February 27 2020, @12:45PM (#963447) Journal

    It's true that the inventor doesn't get to decide. That honor goes to me. I am The Decider.

    You better choose Jif, you choosy motherfuckers.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 27 2020, @02:14PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 27 2020, @02:14PM (#963472)

      None of that nasty crap!

      I eat cashew butter, you insensitive clod!

    • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday February 27 2020, @10:01PM

      by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Thursday February 27 2020, @10:01PM (#963802) Homepage
      Where I come from, that's a toilet cleaner - you're welcome to it.
      --
      Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 27 2020, @10:56PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 27 2020, @10:56PM (#963838)

      While we're at it, can we do a french option where we don't pronounce the last part of the word, so we call it ji

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by DannyB on Thursday February 27 2020, @04:45PM (5 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday February 27 2020, @04:45PM (#963593) Journal

    That's like saying George Lucas was right about every directorial decision he ever made.

    He then replaces firearms with walkie talkies. Changes who shot first in the Star Wars cantina. Digitally remasters everything with new special effects.

    What a way to be right.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday February 27 2020, @09:50PM (2 children)

      by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Thursday February 27 2020, @09:50PM (#963790) Homepage
      I know. This way he can be right *multiple times*.

      Genious!
      --
      Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
      • (Score: 3, Funny) by DannyB on Thursday February 27 2020, @10:05PM (1 child)

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday February 27 2020, @10:05PM (#963807) Journal

        Jenious!

        --
        People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
        • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Sunday March 01 2020, @05:31AM

          by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Sunday March 01 2020, @05:31AM (#964782) Homepage
          Holy fuck.

          How did I miss that?

          My hat is tipped.
          --
          Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
    • (Score: 2) by arslan on Thursday February 27 2020, @10:58PM (1 child)

      by arslan (3462) on Thursday February 27 2020, @10:58PM (#963841)

      Yea and we all curse him for all the tinkering, and his payback for all the hate? Disney! That's like the grandmother of all Touche.

      • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday February 28 2020, @02:54PM

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday February 28 2020, @02:54PM (#964123) Journal

        IMO, Disney royally screwed up Star Wars.

        --
        People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
  • (Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Thursday February 27 2020, @09:52PM (5 children)

    by fido_dogstoyevsky (131) <axehandleNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Thursday February 27 2020, @09:52PM (#963792)

    ...That's like saying George Lucas was right about every directorial decision he ever made.

    Maybe not, but he was one helluva lot better than the later ones...

    --
    It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
  • (Score: 2) by edIII on Thursday February 27 2020, @11:09PM (1 child)

    by edIII (791) on Thursday February 27 2020, @11:09PM (#963850)

    Why is that absurd? He did literally invent the jargon we are using, so why wouldn't you want to use it as it was originally created? Jargon, by its nature, should be consistent for all people involved. That being said, I don't think there is an extreme inconsistency between "gif" and "jif" sufficient to confuse people talking about the technology.

    Still, the inventor is the one that gets to decide how it used. Although "decide" may be a bit strong for something that seemed to be not thought of at all. It wasn't a premeditated pronunciation, but just how it happened. So if you are concerned about correctness, in a fit of pedantry, you would go with the original pronunciation from the inventor. If you disagree with the original pronunciation, in a different fit of pedantry, and go with something different, it still doesn't matter.

    It's not like we've slammed a fucking probe into another planet over the confusion :) We all know what we're talking about.

    Now, if you want a real fucking argument around here.... why the fuck do the British pronounce the word herb that way?

    --
    Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
    • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Sunday March 01 2020, @05:39AM

      by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Sunday March 01 2020, @05:39AM (#964786) Homepage
      :)

      I hate the French enough already, don't bring up the wrongs they've done to our wonderful Germanic language.

      Noah was right. And he was righting French wrongs.
      --
      Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves