Uploaded October 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Is there a "right" way to pronounce it? And why is it so complicated? •
Written with Molly Ruhl and Gretchen McCulloch. Gretchen's podcast has an episode all about this: lingthusiasm.com/post/180153994181/lingthusiasm-episode-26-why-do-c-and-g-come-in
Gretchen's book BECAUSE INTERNET, all about the evolution of internet language, is available:
🇺🇸 US: amzn.to/30tLpjT
🇨🇦 CA: amzn.to/2JsTYWH
🇬🇧 UK: amzn.to/31K8eRD
(Those are affiliate links that give a commission to me or Gretchen, depending on country!)
Graphics by Willow Marler: wmad.co.uk
Audio mix by Graham Haerther: haerther.net
REFERENCES:
Buck, S. 2014. 70% of People Worldwide Pronounce 'GIF' With a Hard 'G'. mashable.com/2014/10/21/mispronounced-words-tech
O'Leary, A. (2013, May 21). An Honor for the Creator of the GIF. New York Times. Retrieved from bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/21/an-honor-for-the-creator-of-the-gif
Olsen, S. The Gif Pronunciation Page. web.archive.org/web/20200225141100/https://www.olsenhome.com/gif
Baio, A. 2014. ‘JIF’ Is the Format. ‘GIF’ Is the Culture. medium.com/message/jif-is-the-format-gif-is-the-culture-af8673796c44
McCulloch, G. 2015. Why the pronunciation of gif really can go either way. mentalfloss.com/article/69147/why-pronunciation-gif-really-can-go-either-way
Dow, M. 2020. It's 'gif and gif': The english lexicon goes both ways. mcdowlinguist.github.io/2020/08/31/gif-pronunciation.html
🟥 MORE FROM TOM: tomscott.com
(you can find contact details and social links there too)
❓ LATERAL, free weekly podcast: lateralcast.com youtube.com/lateralcast
👥 THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES: youtube.com/techdif
Is there a "right" way to pronounce it? And why is it so complicated? •
Written with Molly Ruhl and Gretchen McCulloch. Gretchen's podcast has an episode all about this: lingthusiasm.com/post/180153994181/lingthusiasm-episode-26-why-do-c-and-g-come-in
Gretchen's book BECAUSE INTERNET, all about the evolution of internet language, is available:
🇺🇸 US: amzn.to/30tLpjT
🇨🇦 CA: amzn.to/2JsTYWH
🇬🇧 UK: amzn.to/31K8eRD
(Those are affiliate links that give a commission to me or Gretchen, depending on country!)
Graphics by Willow Marler: wmad.co.uk
Audio mix by Graham Haerther: haerther.net
REFERENCES:
Buck, S. 2014. 70% of People Worldwide Pronounce 'GIF' With a Hard 'G'. mashable.com/2014/10/21/mispronounced-words-tech
O'Leary, A. (2013, May 21). An Honor for the Creator of the GIF. New York Times. Retrieved from bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/21/an-honor-for-the-creator-of-the-gif
Olsen, S. The Gif Pronunciation Page. web.archive.org/web/20200225141100/https://www.olsenhome.com/gif
Baio, A. 2014. ‘JIF’ Is the Format. ‘GIF’ Is the Culture. medium.com/message/jif-is-the-format-gif-is-the-culture-af8673796c44
McCulloch, G. 2015. Why the pronunciation of gif really can go either way. mentalfloss.com/article/69147/why-pronunciation-gif-really-can-go-either-way
Dow, M. 2020. It's 'gif and gif': The english lexicon goes both ways. mcdowlinguist.github.io/2020/08/31/gif-pronunciation.html
🟥 MORE FROM TOM: tomscott.com
(you can find contact details and social links there too)
❓ LATERAL, free weekly podcast: lateralcast.com youtube.com/lateralcast
👥 THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES: youtube.com/techdif
