Editing GIF (section)

==Terminology==
As a [[noun]], the word ''GIF'' is found in the newer editions of many dictionaries. In 2012, the American wing of the [[Oxford University Press]] recognized ''GIF'' as a [[verb]] as well, meaning "to create a GIF file", as in "GIFing was the perfect medium for sharing scenes from the [[Summer Olympics]]". The press's lexicographers voted it their [[word of the year]], saying that GIFs have evolved into "a tool with serious applications including research and journalism".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/press-releases/us-word-of-the-year-2012/ |title=Oxford Dictionaries USA Word of the Year 2012 |website=OxfordWords blog |publisher=Oxford American Dictionaries |date=2012-11-13 |access-date=2013-05-01 |archive-date=3 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140803083637/http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/press-releases/us-word-of-the-year-2012/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Flood |first=Alison |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2012/nov/14/gif-america-word-year-omnishambles |title=''Gif'' is America's word of the year? Now that's what I call an omnishambles |department=Books blog |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=2013-04-27 |access-date=2013-05-01 |location=London |archive-date=1 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201172504/https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2012/nov/14/gif-america-word-year-omnishambles |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Pronunciation===
{{Main|Pronunciation of GIF}}
[[File:White House Tumblr launch image.jpg|thumbnail|right|A humorous infographic announcing the 2013 launch of a [[Tumblr]] account for the [[Executive Office of the President of the United States|White House]] suggests pronouncing ''GIF'' with a hard ''g''.]]

The pronunciation of the first letter of ''GIF'' has been disputed since the 1990s. The most common pronunciations in English are {{IPAc-en|dʒ|ɪ|f|audio=Pronunciation of jif.ogg}} (with a [[Voiced postalveolar affricate|soft ''g'']] as in ''gin'') and {{IPAc-en|g|ɪ|f|audio=Pronunciation of gif.ogg}} (with a [[Voiced velar plosive|hard ''g'']] as in ''gift''), differing in the [[phoneme]] represented by the letter ''G''. The creators of the format pronounced the acronym ''GIF'' as {{IPAc-en|dʒ|ɪ|f}}, with a [[Voiced postalveolar affricate|soft ''g'']], with Wilhite stating that he intended for the pronunciation to deliberately echo the American [[peanut butter]] brand [[Jif (peanut butter)|Jif]], and [[CompuServe]] employees would often quip "choosy developers choose GIF", a spoof of Jif's television commercials.<ref name="olsen">{{cite web | url = http://www.olsenhome.com/gif/ | title = The GIF Pronunciation Page | first = Steve | last = Olsen | access-date = 6 March 2009 | archive-date = 25 February 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090225075707/http://www.olsenhome.com/gif/ | url-status = live }}</ref> However, the word is widely pronounced as {{IPAc-en|ɡ|ɪ|f}}, with a [[Voiced velar stop|hard ''g'']],<ref name=BBC20130522>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22620473|title=Gif's inventor says ignore dictionaries and say 'Jif'|work=BBC News|date=2013-05-22|access-date=2013-05-22|archive-date=27 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627083454/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22620473|url-status=live}}</ref> and polls have generally shown that this hard ''g'' pronunciation is more prevalent.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Buck|first=Stephanie|date=October 21, 2014|title=70 percent of people worldwide pronounce ''GIF'' with a hard ''g''|work=[[Mashable]]|url=https://mashable.com/archive/mispronounced-words-tech|access-date=December 24, 2021|archive-date=December 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223162234/https://mashable.com/archive/mispronounced-words-tech|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=van der Meulen |first=Marten |date=May 22, 2019 |title=Obama, SCUBA or gift?: Authority and argumentation in online discussion on the pronunciation of ''GIF'' |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/english-today/article/obama-scuba-or-gift/0057DB6B7B1FAABBE3112342FE14E27D |journal=[[English Today]] |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=45–50 |access-date=22 May 2022 |archive-date=24 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524072220/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/english-today/article/obama-scuba-or-gift/0057DB6B7B1FAABBE3112342FE14E27D |url-status=live }}</ref>

''[[Dictionary.com]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/GIF |title=GIF |work=The American Heritage Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |year=2005 |access-date=2007-04-15 |archive-date=3 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903171835/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/GIF |url-status=live }}</ref> cites both pronunciations, indicating {{IPAc-en|dʒ|ɪ|f}} as the primary pronunciation, while ''Cambridge Dictionary of American English''<ref name="cambridgedict">{{cite web |url=http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/business-english/gif?q=gif |title=GIF |work=The Cambridge Dictionary of American English |publisher=Cambridge University Press |access-date=2014-02-19 |archive-date=27 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227180258/http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/business-english/gif?q=gif |url-status=live }}</ref> offers only the hard-''g'' pronunciation. ''[[Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary]]''<ref>{{cite web|title=Gif - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gif|work=Merriam-Webster Dictionary|publisher=Merriam-Webster, Incorporated|access-date=6 June 2013|archive-date=22 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022062546/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gif|url-status=live}}</ref> and Oxford Dictionaries cite both pronunciations, but place the hard ''g'' first: {{IPAc-en|g|ɪ|f|,_|dʒ|ɪ|f}}.<ref name="oxforddict">{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/GIF|title=GIF|work=Oxford Dictionaries Online|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=7 October 2014|archive-date=12 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012205125/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/GIF|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=gif noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes {{!}} Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary|url=https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/gif|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124151618/https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/gif|archive-date=24 November 2020|access-date=2021-02-06|website=Oxford Learner's Dictionaries}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=GIF {{!}} Definition of GIF by Oxford Dictionary|url=https://www.lexico.com/definition/gif|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213163951/https://www.lexico.com/definition/gif|archive-date=13 February 2021|access-date=2021-02-06|website=[[Lexico]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=|first=|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/729551189|title=Oxford Dictionary of English|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2010|isbn=9780199571123|editor-last=Stevenson|editor-first=Angus|edition=3rd|location=|pages=|oclc=729551189|access-date=6 February 2021|archive-date=23 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220823125918/https://www.worldcat.org/title/729551189|url-status=live}}</ref> The ''[[New Oxford American Dictionary]]'' gave only {{IPAc-en|dʒ|ɪ|f}} in its second edition<ref>{{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The New Oxford American Dictionary |edition=2nd |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=711 |date=2005 }}</ref> but updated it to {{IPAc-en|dʒ|ɪ|f|,_|g|ɪ|f}} in the third edition.<ref>{{cite book |title=The New Oxford American Dictionary |edition=3rd |date=2012}} (part of the Macintosh built-in dictionaries).</ref>

The disagreement over the pronunciation has led to heated Internet debate. On the occasion of receiving a lifetime achievement award at the [[2013 Webby Awards]] ceremony, Wilhite publicly rejected the hard-''g'' pronunciation;<ref name=BBC20130522 /><ref>{{cite news|last=O'Leary|first=Amy|title=An Honor for the Creator of the GIF|url=http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/21/an-honor-for-the-creator-of-the-gif/?smid=tw-nytimes|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=22 May 2013|date=21 May 2013|archive-date=22 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522145554/http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/21/an-honor-for-the-creator-of-the-gif/?smid=tw-nytimes|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=LAT20131204>{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/nation/shareitnow/la-sh-alex-trebek-gif-pronunciation-jeopardy-20131204,0,1162165.story#axzz2mYD3tX3M |title='Jeopardy' wades into 'GIF' pronunciation battle |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=2013-12-04 |first=Daniel |last=Rothberg |date=4 December 2013 |archive-date=6 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206004148/http://www.latimes.com/nation/shareitnow/la-sh-alex-trebek-gif-pronunciation-jeopardy-20131204,0,1162165.story#axzz2mYD3tX3M |url-status=live }}</ref> his speech led to more than 17,000 posts on [[Twitter]] and dozens of news articles.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/battle-over-gif-pronunciation-erupts/?_r=0 | work=The New York Times | first=Amy | last=O'Leary | title=Battle Over 'GIF' Pronunciation Erupts | date=23 May 2013 | access-date=5 December 2013 | archive-date=16 December 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216170719/http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/battle-over-gif-pronunciation-erupts/?_r=0 | url-status=live }}</ref> The [[White House]]<ref name=BBC20130522 /> and the TV program ''[[Jeopardy!]]'' also entered the debate in 2013.<ref name=LAT20131204 /> In February 2020, [[The J.M. Smucker Company]], the owners of the Jif brand, partnered with the animated image database and search engine [[Giphy]] to release a limited-edition "Jif vs. GIF" ([[hashtag]]ged as #JIFvsGIF) jar of peanut butter that had a label humorously declaring the soft-''g'' pronunciation to refer exclusively to the peanut butter, and ''GIF'' to be exclusively pronounced with the hard-''g'' pronunciation.<ref name="Jif CNN">{{cite web|last=Valinsky|first=Jordan|title=Jif settles the great debate with a GIF peanut butter jar|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/25/business/jif-gif-peanut-butter-trnd/index.html|website=[[CNN]]|access-date=2020-02-25|date=2020-02-25|df=mdy-all|archive-date=25 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225173743/https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/25/business/jif-gif-peanut-butter-trnd/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>