The Mailbag

Interestingly I’ve heard “gif” as in the image format pronounced both ways by knowledgeable people. I happen to prefer the hard “g” sound as in “Gifford” which is what I use because I figure in the interest of clarity if it is pronounced that way there can be very little chance of being misunderstood (the only possible way to spell that spoken word is G-I-F while the soft “g” sound could make people think of the letter “J” which is more easily identifiable with “jpeg” (jay-peg) which, perhaps in a very convoluted and twisted fashion, seems confusing to me). There do seem to be some regional preferences with “gif” or maybe social is more what I mean: Most management types or non-graphic artists I’ve encountered use “jif” while a higher number of Photoshop-user-types stick with hard “g” “gif.”

And since he brought it up, I just thought I’d point out that I loathe the pronunciation of “GUI” as “gooey.” It just sounds to inane to me, sitting around having a serious discussion about user interaction and usability while grown men are tossing around a word I most commonly associate with children’s snack food. I tend to speak each letter when I say it (“Gee You Eye”) but lots of people have given me funny looks for that, though no one has yet to speak up and tell me I’m a moron.

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