How to Pronounce GIF According to Steve Wilhite

The debate over whether "GIF" is pronounced with a hard or soft "g" has divided internet users for decades, but the format's creator settled the matter definitively. This article explains how Steve Wilhite, the computer scientist who invented the Graphics Interchange Format, explicitly stated that the acronym is intended to be pronounced with a soft "g," sounding identical to the peanut butter brand "Jif."

Steve Wilhite created the GIF format in 1987 while working at CompuServe. From its inception, he and his development team intended the acronym to use a soft "g." During the format's early days, CompuServe employees even popularized a humorous slogan playing on the popular Jif peanut butter marketing campaign: "Choosy developers choose GIF."

Wilhite made his stance globally famous in May 2013 while accepting a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 17th Annual Webby Awards. Given the Webby tradition of keeping acceptance speeches to just five words, Wilhite delivered his address using an animated slide projected onto a giant screen. The slide read: "IT'S PRONOUNCED 'JIF'."

In an interview with The New York Times around the same time, Wilhite reiterated his position and dismissed the common argument that the "G" must be hard because it stands for the word "Graphics." He stated, "The Oxford English Dictionary accepts both pronunciations. They are wrong. It is a soft 'G', pronounced 'jif'. End of story."

Despite Wilhite's firm declaration, dictionaries and common usage continue to recognize both the soft "g" (/dʒɪf/) and the hard "g" (/ɡɪf/) variants as standard English. Nevertheless, until his passing in 2022, Steve Wilhite remained resolute that the creator's true intention was always the soft "g."