37.169, Qs: Inquiry about a Certain Acronym

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-169. Wed Jan 14 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.169, Qs: Inquiry about a Certain Acronym

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Date: 13-Jan-2026
From: Caelin [notsocaelin at gmail.com]
Subject: Inquiry about a Certain Acronym


Now, I know this may sound silly, but I'd like to ask you - a group of
professionals - about the pronunciation of the acronym "GIF", it
stands for Graphics Interchange Format. And while the answer may seem
obvious, it clearly isn't amongst others.
Like how the word "Generally" is pronounced with a sort of harsh G,
like J, many (including my friends) think it is pronounced as "JIF".
So, I've decided to ask this very absurd question to a group of
dedicated professionals, and as of right now, I'll be waiting for your
response.

Linguistic Field(s): Phonetics




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