• HatchetHaro@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    1 year ago

    It’s pronounced however the fuck you want to pronounce it.

    I like to pronounce it “jif” because gin, gentle, Germany, gypsy. Others like to pronounce it “gif” because gift, good, game, girl.

    Don’t pull any bullshit reasons like “it’s not pronounced jraphics”, because if that argument holds any water, JPEG is jay-feg, scuba is scuh-ba, and laser is lah-seer.

    The creator calls it “jif” and wants others to call it “jif”. I don’t give a shit; if some people want to call it “gif”, that’s up to them and I’m not stopping them. English is not a prescriptive language; pronunciations will always differ according to origins and regions and accents and generations. I will not misunderstand you if you pronounce it “gif”, and you will not misunderstand me if I say “jif”.

    • xenspidey@lemmy.zip
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      1 year ago

      This should be the top comment, thank you for putting into words exactly how I feel fellow jiffer

    • ledtasso@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      By calling it “jif” I think the creator was referencing “jiffy,” as in “fast.” It’s like a video, but it loads in a jiffy. Or: it’s a short looping video - it’s over in a jiffy then restarts again.

      I think people that call it “gif” don’t intuitively get this, even at the subconscious level. If they did, I think they’d prefer “jif.” It’s much more fun IMO. Not to mention that it’s less likely to be mistaken for an existing word (gift). So it’s both more fun and more practical. What else do we have to do to convince you people :(

      • ggppjj@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        It’s a reference to Jif peanut butter’s ad campaign.

        “Choosy moms choose Jif” was used as “Choosy developers choose GIF”.