Most people use acronyms, and most people have a strong opinion about how to say them.
You probably say “GIF” all the time in the world we live in now. Hey, you might even send one once in a while, especially if you’re like me and use a few of them every day in all sorts of written conversations. Even though GIFs are so common, many people don’t even know what the word means, let alone how to say it correctly.
People often say this acronym wrong, but we’re here to help you get it right, starting with a definition of what a GIF is. And while you’re at it, learn the difference between an acronym and an abbreviation.
What is a GIF?
A GIF is just a picture file at its most basic level. You probably know what animated GIFs are. They are made up of a series of still GIF images that are linked together to make a short graphic that loops and often looks like a video. Because of how it’s made, the file size is small and it’s easy to share via text, email, social media, and so on.
Steve Wilhite, an American computer scientist, came up with GIFs in 1987 as a way to compress images for file downloading, animation, and simple graphics on the slow, low-bandwidth dial-up Internet connections of the time. GIFs are now mostly used on social media to send over-the-top reactions. Something that might make you want to make a surprised GIF? You can’t say these company names.
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What Does The GIF Acronym Mean?
Did you know that “GIF” is a kind of abbreviation? People have had different ideas about what GIF stands for, but GIF’s creator, Wilhite, said that it stands for “Graphics Interchange Format.” Wilhite and his team chose the name so that they could call it a GIF.
Wilhite has been very clear that he doesn’t like it when people say the acronym wrong. This brings us to the next question: how do you say “GIF”? It can’t be as hard as saying these words wrong, which even smart people do.
How to Pronounce GIF?
There are two different ideas about how to say GIF. Most people take the hard “g” sound (like in the word “guess”) from the word “graphics” in Graphics Interchange Format and say the word /f/.
Some people use a soft “g,” like in the word “gibberish.” This is because a “g” that comes after the vowel I is usually said with a soft “g.” This makes GIF sound like the name of a brand of peanut butter. In fact, this is how GIF’s creator, Steve Wilhite, wanted it to be said when he came up with the name, and he has since confirmed that this is how he wanted it to be said.
Even though this rule came from above, people still have heated arguments about how to say the GIF. Both Merriam-Webster and the Oxford English Dictionary list both ways to say it, so it doesn’t really matter how you say it. If you thought GIF was hard to say, you won’t be able to say any of these English words.
What to Do With a GIF?
Even though it’s important to know how to say “GIF,” it’s more important to know how to use one. But you have to know where to look first. Using the GIF search bar in your messages and other social media apps is the easiest way to find a GIF.
Depending on your phone and the app you are using, the icon looks different, but it is usually a small picture that is easy to confuse with the camera icon. It is usually in the box where you would type. Once you find the search bar, it’s easy to use the function. When you type in the feeling you want to show, you’ll get a list of moving pictures to choose from.
GIFs are kind of like emojis with more features. Use them instead of an emoji to make your point even more clear. Most GIFs are funny, so this could make what you are trying to say more interesting and funny. They could also stand alone as a response to what the other person said.
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Conclusion
Steve Wilhite came up with GIFs in 1987 as a way to compress images for file downloading, animation, and simple graphics. GIFs are now mostly used on social media to send over-the-top reactions. Some people use a soft “g,” like in the word “gibberish,” to say GIF. This is how GIF’s creator, Steve Wilhite, wanted it to be said. Both Merriam-Webster and the Oxford English Dictionary list both ways to say it.
