Buzz
At the 2013 Webby Awards, Steve Wilhite, the creator of the Graphics Interchange Format, made a strong statement on the divisive issue of how to pronounce GIF. In his brief acceptance speech for a lifetime achievement award, he made it clear: "It's pronounced 'JIF,' not 'GIF.'" Those who supported the soft-g pronunciation applauded, while the hard-g advocates rejected Wilhite’s claim, asserting they would continue to pronounce it however they like.
Phonetically, both pronunciations have merit. In English, words starting with 'g' can be pronounced with a soft sound, like in 'giraffe,' or with a hard sound, as in 'give.' This duality raises the question: why does 'g' have two distinct sounds? And are there rules determining which is correct?
We should consider ourselves fortunate that only two pronunciations exist today. When the letter 'g' was first introduced to represent sounds in Old English, it stood for four distinct sounds: a hard g, a soft g, a 'y' sound as heard in 'yes,' and a unique soft gargle sound that no longer appears in modern English (a voiced velar fricative).
During the Middle English era, we adopted many words from French, where the letter 'g' was used to indicate a hard sound before back vowels (a, o, u) and a soft sound before front vowels (i, e). As we began using 'g' in the same way as French, another letter (the insular g) took on the task of representing the other sounds, many of which eventually disappeared or evolved into something different.
Thus, we have two pronunciations for 'g' because French had two distinct ones. But are the rules for which pronunciation to use the same as in French? Not exactly. While a significant portion of English vocabulary is derived from French, not all of it is, and that's where things get more complex with 'g.' However, there are some guidelines to follow:
1. Hard 'g' before a consonant (e.g., glad, great)
2. Hard 'g' before a back vowel (e.g., go, garden, gum)
3. Hard 'g' at the end of a word (e.g., big, frog, leg)
4. A hard 'g' is used for Hebrew names (e.g., Gideon, Giliad)
5. A hard 'g' before a front vowel in most Germanic-origin words (e.g., gift, get, gild)
6. A soft 'g' is used for Greek-origin words starting with 'gy-' (e.g., gymnasium, gymnastics, gyroscope). However, there's an exception for 'gynecology' and other words starting with 'gyn-.'
7. A soft 'g' before a front vowel if the word has Romance origins (e.g., geography, giant, ginger, general)
So where does GIF fall into this pattern?
As a word with 'g' before a front vowel, there are four possible rules (4-7 above) that might apply: hard 'g' for Hebrew or Germanic origins, soft 'g' for Greek or Romance origins. But alas, GIF is originless! An etymological Frankenstein pieced together from scraps! And so we are left in a lawless void, without any rule to follow.
And this is when the conflict begins.
Some turn to the soft 'g' Romans for guidance, while others look to the hard 'g' Visigoths. Some might align with the hard 'g' Maccabee warriors, or the soft 'g' Greek legion. Whoever claims victory in the battle for GIF will earn the spoils: abundant resources of kittens and celebrities. Unfortunately, peace seems unlikely.
