The point is that there is absolutely no precedent for a soft G in that situation. The question is “Would you say that it was pronounced “jif” if the creator hadn’t said it was pronounced that way?”, and you’d have to look at what already exists in English and conclude that, no, you wouldn’t pronounce it that way.
For comparison, look at the number of people who pronounce “gibs” with a hard g when it’s derived from “giblets” which isn’t. There’s clearly some kind of rule being followed here, even if it hasn’t been strictly codified anywhere.
It could also be that the most commonly used reference point is gift. That doesn’t make it a rule, that makes it a reasonable assumption and it would be just as reasonable if your reference point was giraffe. What I’m saying is the only people who are wrong are the people that insist that they are the only correct ones.
I have to disagree with the idea that “giraffe” is equally reasonable as a reference. Yes, it has an F in it, but it’s not exactly the third letter, is it?
I’m saying the presence of an f at all affecting the pronunciation of the g is laughably arbitrary as all the evidence for it has the same exact root word and isn’t enough to make it a rule.
The point is that there is absolutely no precedent for a soft G in that situation. The question is “Would you say that it was pronounced “jif” if the creator hadn’t said it was pronounced that way?”, and you’d have to look at what already exists in English and conclude that, no, you wouldn’t pronounce it that way.
For comparison, look at the number of people who pronounce “gibs” with a hard g when it’s derived from “giblets” which isn’t. There’s clearly some kind of rule being followed here, even if it hasn’t been strictly codified anywhere.
It could also be that the most commonly used reference point is gift. That doesn’t make it a rule, that makes it a reasonable assumption and it would be just as reasonable if your reference point was giraffe. What I’m saying is the only people who are wrong are the people that insist that they are the only correct ones.
I have to disagree with the idea that “giraffe” is equally reasonable as a reference. Yes, it has an F in it, but it’s not exactly the third letter, is it?
I’m saying the presence of an f at all affecting the pronunciation of the g is laughably arbitrary as all the evidence for it has the same exact root word and isn’t enough to make it a rule.
Ah. You’re saying both are equal because they both count for nothing and two zeros are equal.
I disagree that “gift”, despite being a singular example, is nothing. 1 > 0.