How to pronounce “.GIF�
Posted by Lab Rat
As (somewhat of a) graphics professional, I have heard many people over the years pronounce the name of the .GIF file format both as “jif�, like “in a jiffy�, and “Gif�, as in “Gift�. I work more in the video end of the graphics field, and so I don’t really come in contact with Gifs as much as, say, a web designer might. It has been my experience that the majority of Mac users I have met pronounce it “Gif�, and the majority of PC users I have met seem to side with “Jif�. Personally, I had always used the hard-G “Gift� version, and it always annoyed me a little when someone used the “Jif� pronunciation. I usually thought, “What an idiot. This guy can’t even pronounce GIF, he must have no clue what he is doing!�.
Well, this article goes on to explain why I (and many others) am wrong, and why we are in fact the idiots who are probably annoying the people who know better. It gives the history of the GIF, and I found it to be quite funny.
For the record, I am switching to PNGs (pronounced PEEN-AGs) now in order to avoid having to say “Jif� out loud. (It just ain’t right).
