It’s a debate as old as time itself. Err, a debate at least as old as the modern incarnation of the internet, anyway? How does one pronounce the word “GIF?” Is it a hard-G “guh” sound, as in “Graphics Interchange Format,” which is what the acronym stands for? Or is it a soft-G like JIF, which is oddly the pronunciation that was intended by the creators of the format?
It looks like we finally may be able to put the argument to rest, thanks to Jif peanut butter and online database Giphy, both of which have teamed up to make a definitive ruling for once and for all. And the verdict is that GIF should indeed be pronounced with a hard-G, as in “gift,” “garden,” or “gate.”
The two entities have issued a “Joint Pronunciation Proclamation” and even launched an entire website devoted to the cause.
When is it okay to call a GIF a “Jif”? Never. Help us put the lid on the infamous internet debate once and for all. #JIFvsGIF https://t.co/INoJNiquwq
— Jif® Peanut Butter (@Jif) February 25, 2020
“It’s been the most polarizing debate of our time, and we’re not talking about whether pineapple goes on pizza,” reads a statement on JIFvsGIF. “No, we’re talking about the dispute that’s dragged our good name into the front lines of pronunciation combat. We’re talking about JIF vs GIF. Soft G vs Hard G. And we think it’s time you talked about it, too.”
In light of this hard-G ruling, #TeamHardG and #TeamSoftG did, in fact, have plenty to talk about. Although if the ensuing discussion on Twitter was any indication, it seems as though folks are still as divided as ever.
GIPHY teamed up with JIF to make a limited-run of GIF/JIF peanut butter jars for all my fellow Hard-G lifers out there. Available now on Amazon! https://t.co/44HZqJ9cSq pic.twitter.com/s9NSaEs8ps
— Andy Baio (@waxpancake) February 25, 2020
In the greatest debate of our time
— Cameron Magruder (@ScooterMagruder) February 25, 2020
I stand on the right side of history
GIF is pronounced like @JIF
WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?#JifvsGif #ad pic.twitter.com/JP0GPseN0s
This speaks to me. 🗣
— Brian Wagner (@BrianRWagner) February 25, 2020
Thank you, @Jif. pic.twitter.com/0L9VW8CeSS
I have a terrible, dark secret to share with you.
— James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@XplodingUnicorn) February 25, 2020
I pronounce GIF like @Jif peanut butter, and I don’t care who knows it.
Time to watch my follower count drop to zero. #ad #JifVsGif pic.twitter.com/VTN96lWC52
And because what viral marketing stunt would be complete without a shameless cash grab—Jif is offering limited-edition, 40-ounce jars of peanut butter on Amazon to ostensibly explain the difference. Or as they put it: “A collaboration between two titans of pronunciation that unequivocally declares, ‘Jif is peanut butter, GIFs are animations.’ This is your lucky day, and this is that jar.”
The limited-edition jar of JIF costs $9.99, or approximately 25 cents per ounce of peanut butter—nearly twice the amount of a normal 40-ounce jar of JIF. But the satisfaction of knowing you’ve been pronouncing “GIF” correctly this entire time? Priceless.
READ MORE:
- Someone figured out how to post multiple GIFs on Twitter—and people are freaking out
- Beloved mememaker YTMND appeared to be gone for good—but now it’s back
- Deepfake app turns you into your favorite GIFs
