Comment on looking forward to the comments

Varyk@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

• CrypticFawn@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

  He didn’t tell anyone it was pronounced jif till a great many years later, after most people were pronouncing it gif.

  He lost the right to dictate how everyone else pronounces it for that reason alone.

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  • Varyk@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    I understand that some people feel very strongly about pronunciations. So be angry about the correct pronunciation, heck, don’t use the correct pronunciation, who cares?

    But Wilhite made it, so he gets to name it, regardless of the popularity of later pronunciation debates that largely take place in a forum where you can’t actually pronounce the word because we’re all typing. It’s pretty funny.

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    • bustrpoindextr@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      Gerrymandering was named after Elbridge Gerry, but his name is pronounced Gary: youtu.be/Rp0Qz19nlG4

      Popularity of pronunciation does actually matter, regardless of origin.

      There are plenty of pronunciations that have changed from the original and are now generally accepted as correct. Here are some examples

      …wordpress.com/…/10-words-whose-pronunciation-has…

      Anywho, if you have any recommendations for birthday jifts for kids, lemme know

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      • Varyk@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        Nice! Read the related comment by this juy: lemmy.world/comment/1832124

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    • CrypticFawn@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      So be angry about the correct pronunciation

      I’m not angry about the correct pronunciation, since I and most people already do pronounce it correctly. As Gif, not Jif.

      But Wilhite made it, so he gets to name it

      You’re right about one thing; he named it. But he doesn’t get to dictate how it’s pronounced many years later after the majority had already been pronouncing it a certain way. If he wanted it called Jif, then he should have said so from the very beginning. Why wait till 2013? Doesn’t that seem odd to you?

      regardless of the popularity of later pronunciation

      I’m sorry but the popularity of how a word is pronounced does in fact actually matter. Plus, the English language is changing all the time and how we pronounce certain words also changes.

      that largely take place in a forum where you can’t actually pronounce the word because we’re all typing. It’s pretty funny.

      I’ve used the word Gif in real life, multiple times. Everyone I know pronounces it the same way. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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      • Varyk@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        However, you want to pronounce it is fine, but it doesn’t make it correct.

        I don’t think there’s a time limit on announcing the way a creator prefers to pronounce the name of his creation.

        It became an internet sensation, people asked him about the correct way to pronounce guf, he said how he prefers to pronounce it.

        I prefer to pronounce it that way as well, as the original pronunciation by the creator. That’s more correct to me, but nobody’s forcing you to pronounce it any particular way.

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  • Hyperi0n@lemmy.film ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Most people pronounced it correctly. Hard G was mocked on many tech sites and sites like 4chan.

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    • CrypticFawn@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      You mean “jif” was openly mocked, and still is for the most part. Anyone referring to it as Jif is typically viewed as pretentious.

      But you are correct about people pronouncing it correctly; as Gif. =)

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      • Hyperi0n@lemmy.film ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        Soft G was only recently psedo-mocked on tech-stupid subreddits.

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• blackbrook@mander.xyz ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

  If he didn’t want people to pronounce it two different ways he should have spelled it differently.

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  • Lightor@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Right? And people get mad at me for saying gur-affe at the zoo. They should have slept it different if they wanted me to say jir-affe.

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  • Varyk@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Yea, should have. As another commenter posted, Wilhite should have called it the jraphics interchange format.

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• Ocelot@lemmies.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

  Ah, yes “Jrafic interchange format”

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  • Hyperi0n@lemmy.film ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Ah, yes. NaySAh(NASA), SaKUBA(SCUBA), MeDAS(MIDAS), JayFEG(JPEG), RADiR(RADAR) …

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  • samus12345@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Acronyms are not pronounced based on the words that form them.

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  • Varyk@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    That’s what the inventor chose, so yup. Unfortunately, jif is the correct pronunciation.

    My favorite example of this is aluminum. Twice now, I’ve spoken to British English speakers that insist aluminum is pronounced the British way. And when I point out aluminum is an American invention, they check their phone, roll their eyes, and accept that I can say it that way, but they never will.

    And euphonically they’re correct, the British pronunciation of aluminum sounds way cooler. I used to use gif until I looked up the usage history specifically for these moments, hahaha. But that’s not its name. So I use jif.

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    • DulyNoted@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      There’s a concept in linguistics known as descriptivism vs proscriptivism. We either accept that things change meanings and pronunciations regionally and over time, or we try to absolutely state that there’s one correct way, and every other way is wrong.

      A major issue with the “I’m right you’re wrong” approach is the in-group decides who is right and wrong. Regional slang is just wrong, not an equally valid way to speak. Those with formal educations are inherently more correct, and thus their grasp of their native language is more correct. This doesn’t really make sense when you think about it, other than to put down groups perceived as lesser.

      Additionally, academics can convince themselves of one thing, and totally fail to be relevant to the real world. This leads your average person to become disenfranchised with academia and talk about how academics in their ivory towers have no understanding of how the real world works.

      Anyway, that’s why I pronounce it joeff.

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      • Varyk@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        Very nicely put. I always noticed this phenomenon but ascribed it to people clinging to schemic security blankets, but it’s good to know that there’s a term that describes the illogical dependence on evolving correctness.

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    • agent_flounder@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      Aluminium sounds cool if you’re British and aluminum sounds cool if you’re American. How do the other English speaking countries say it?

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      • Varyk@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        I’ve only heard the British and American version myself

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    • CrypticFawn@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      Unfortunately, jif is the correct pronunciation.

      Incorrect. I’ve already covered why in previous comments though.

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      • Varyk@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        Back at you.

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