Let’s end the GIF pronunciation debate right now

By Sriya Jampana

I’m right. You’re wrong. I have nothing more to say. 

Let me take you back to Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019: E Day Tatler ALAPP. It was a normal day, or so I thought. While going through our regular Tatler procedures, something horrid caught my attention. It hurts to even think about it. I was appalled that Ms. Goodman, a high school English teacher, mispronounced such simple vocabulary. GIF: pronounced with a hard “g.” I don’t think there has ever been such an atrocity like this committed by any English teacher at St. Mary’s. 

We all know of those animated images that we send through text messages or emails almost every day: GIF. The debate on how to properly pronounce GIF has been going on since those animated images were created in 1987. We should all know by now that there is a correct way and a wrong way. 

One side says the correct way of pronouncing GIF is with a hard “G.” Most of the people I  interviewed said that they pronounced it this way. The argument is that since GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format, the “G” should be pronounced with a hard sound. Another argument is that since GIPHY, an online database for GIFs, is pronounced with a hard “G” so should GIF. This might sound convincing, but the correct way of pronouncing GIF is with a soft “G.” The way I pronounce it. 

The soft “G” sounds better than the other way. In fact, there is a rule in the English Language that states when there is a “G” before an “I,” the “G” must be soft. Now, I know there are many exceptions to this rule, but I haven’t even gotten to the strongest argument in support of this pronunciation. The inventor himself, Steve Wilhite said the correct way was a soft “G.” What more is there to argue? 

Some would claim that just because the inventor says it’s a soft “G” does not mean that it is the correct pronunciation. This, in fact, in not a good argument. Let me explain myself. When I was born, my mother named me Sriya. Because she was the inventor, she got to decide how my name was pronounced. You can’t call me Syria or Saryia and say “that’s the right way because I said so.” Oh, no, no, no, no, no. NO! That’s just not how it works. You did not create me so you don’t get to decide how to pronounce my name. 

In the end even if you mispronounce GIF, it won’t change the way I think about you. Ok, I lied. I shall try to correct those who do not pronounce it correctly, and perhaps get in a “little” argument. However, it will not end with any injuries. 
And one last thing, in my personal opinion, I don’t think that anyone would confuse GIF with the Jif peanut butter brand.