In 1987, when Steve White invented the Graphics Interchange Format, he named it after the “JIF” peanut butter that was popular then. He pronounced it the same way. It was an inside joke for techies; he frequently said that “Choosy developers choose ‘GIF’,” referencing a television commercial circulating at the time. People who knew what it actually meant, knew how it was actually pronounced.
You can pronounce it any way you want to, but know two things:
- If you say “gif” with a hard “g”, like “gift” or “goddam ignoramus,” you’re wrong.
- If you correct me when I pronounce it correctly, I will just smirk.
Although since I’ve been saying it that way probably since before you were born, I might pat you on the head and offer you a yummy peanut butter and gelly sandwich.
That is all.
