I recently found out that “GIF” is pronounced “JIF” (like the peanut butter), and my whole world was flipped upside down. Frankly, I’m annoyed that the creator of GIFs decided to take English phonology and throw it out the window. At the same time, I really can’t blame the guy because, well, have you looked at English phonology lately?
Yeah…see what I mean? Why do even have these rules?
You are probably wondering, as I am wondering myself, why in the world I started talking about GIFs to begin with, but I promise that I have a point. Lacking a better segue, the point of the above mini-rant is this: I am not as “professional” as I try to appear to be.
Shocking, I know.
See, I can be very professional and serious when need be. When I’m in pastor-wife mode on Sunday mornings, I can connect with adults and behave in a polished fashion around visitors. At work, I can lay on the customer service polite-face with the best of them. When I went to the NCWA Writers’ Renewal back in May, I networked like I was born to do just that and managed to be warm and sincere too.
But honestly, deep down inside, I would rather not act like a polished young professional. I would rather wear sweats all day, eat junk food, and spend hours laughing at cat GIFs on Tumblr. I mean, look at all of these!
It almost looks like it’s screaming. I hear Wilhelm.
Whoopsy daisy!
Indignant kitteh is indignant!
SO. If I haven’t permanently scared away everyone who might be interested in my future writing endeavors, I would like to share one more thing with you:
All y’all are swell. :3 Thanks for reading!
Ellayne Shaw 
First of all: I wholeheartedly approve of cat gifs. Always. Especially the “This is where I would put my scratching post….. IF I HAD ONE.” Our cats have plenty of things to scratch and climb and yet I still imagine them thinking this at me. Alas.
On that note, when my brother first told me that “Gif” is pronounced “Jif” (he’s a computer software engineer/mobile app developer/blahblah technonerd) I died a little inside. And while the part of me that wants to “say it right” also wants to rebel against it. I’ve found I kind of 50/50 it, pronouncing it one way the first time and then the other way the second time.
My husband hates it, and I’m pretty sure any other people around me when this happens are just confused.
Until a week or so ago, I pronounced it phonetically, and I still twitch a little knowing how it is “supposed” to be pronounced!
The indignant cat GIF makes me laugh every time I look at it. 🙂