And More: How To Pronounce "GIF"

I find it amazing and entertaining that this is still debated, I almost don't want to clear things up... but I suppose with only this little post on this lowly blog that is mostly about games (with the odd article on editing), I won't really change things.. so here'goes:


The reason this came up at all, was I was looking around for more recent ways to create Animated GIFs, possibly with free applications, just to change things up from JASC's Animation Shop (which I have been using from years ago). I found some tutorials for using GIMP and amusingly found huge discussions/arguments on the pronunciation of GIF (Graphics Interchange Format).

Eventually, to clear things up a bit, I answered someone's question/comment about GIF (and GIMP) on one of the tutorial videos, at YouTube:

"GIMP is pronounced "gemp" because the G comes from GNU, which is pronounced "guh-new", hence it is a 'hard-g'. GIF is pronounced "jiff" because it comes from the computing term Jiffy (unit of time), not the word in it's name 'graphic'; because unlike a static picture, a GIF must utilize "time" to display itself :) " ~Me

[Although it can be argued that GNU can be pronounced "new" (like the animal), the G from GIF still does not come from that etymological standpoint, it comes from the term "Jiffy", as the unit of time, as the picture requires time to be displayed]

There was even a helpful link in the video information section, put up by the tutorial/video creator, linking to a page that explains it all, by a Steve Olsen:
http://www.olsenhome.com/gif/

So there you go, and feel free to ignore the Canadian coming out of me at my spelling of "pronounciation" (how we say it)...

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