Is it GIF, as in gift? Or is it GIF, as in gerrymandered? That is the question.
President Barack Obama declared in a video released by the White House Thursday that he has long pondered the question of how to pronounce the Internet’s most debated word — and he’s come to a decision.
In a meeting this week, Tumblr Founder and CEO David Karp asked Obama, “Did you see the GIF?” pronouncing it “jif” with the soft G. Technically speaking, this is the proper pronunciation, so decreed by Steve Wilhite, who created the GIF—short for Graphics Interchange Format—in 1987.
“A GIF,” Obama replies, with the hard g as in gloat. “I’m all on top of it.”
“So you’ve made up your mind, it’s a GIF?” Karp asks.
“It is. That is my official position. I’ve—I’ve pondered it a long time,” Obama declares.
Many in the media were quick to report on Obama’s mispronunciation of the term. But, as a proponent of the living language and non-stick-in-the-mudness in general, this writer, controversially among his colleagues, is fine with the President’s position.
- How the Biden Administration Lost Its Way
- Hanya Yanagihara Is Never Going to Read Your Mean Tweets
- Inside Finland's Plan to End All Waste by 2050
- Chloe Kim Is Ready to Win Olympic Gold Again—On Her Own Terms
- Asia Has Kept COVID-19 at Bay for 2 Years. Omicron Could Change That
- Investors Are Sinking Real Money Into Virtual Real Estate, With No Guarantees
- The Man Putin Fears
