A friend of mine has put a new spin on the word “WiFi”. From this day forth, wifi shall be known as “wuffie” (hear it pronounced – WAV). It can rhyme with party, which is convenient.
Also, harkening back to the old classic “gif” vs. “jif” debate, this same friend has started pronouncing the “g” in digital as a hard “g” (hear it pronounced “digital wuffie” WAV).
Spread the word. I’m living in the wellspring of language.
Comments
Nick Burka - July 8, 2003 10:08 am
Along the same lines. Conversation I've had:
<p>Peter B: The proper pronouniation of "gif" is gg-if, not jj-if. It's <b>G</b>raphics Interchange Format.</p>
<p>Me: So, really "jpeg" shouldn't be pronounced jay-peg it should be jay-pheg. It's the Joint <b>Ph</b>otographic Experts Group.</p>
Jim - July 8, 2003 11:22 am
You can't pronounce it "whuffie". Whuffie is something else - and may very well be used as the basis for digital reputations. Please don't pollute the namespace :)
Alan - July 8, 2003 12:20 pm
Wouldn't it be "why-fee"? This would be a aural equivalent to the endearment "my dear wifie".
Andy - July 8, 2003 12:45 pm
GIF and JPEG are acronyms -- hence, they ought to be pronounced just like HTML and TXT. If they weren't acronyms, but where instead actually named Gif and J'peg, with no other meaning, then I guess the people behind the names could argue how they wanted to pronounce it. As it stands, neither one is a name or word, and thus, logically, should be pronounced G-I-F and J-P-E-G.
WiFi, on the other hand, being an abbreviation, is perfectly safe for interpretation.
Alan - July 8, 2003 1:05 pm
Andy - no one pronounces J-P-E-G. It is "jay-peg" to most. By your rule, "Nay-toe" is improper for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
nathan - July 8, 2003 1:06 pm
At the end of the day the majority always wins when it comes to defining language... regardless of any so-called rules.
Does anyone actually say T-X-T file, and not just "text file"?
Wifi is an abbreviation of quite a meaningless phrase "Wireless Fidelity", surely created by some marketing types who remembered how successful "HiFi" was at selling stereos.
Alan - July 8, 2003 1:52 pm
My folks still have an @1958 lp which shows the qualities of "stereophonic HiFi" through playing various noises like trains going from the left speaker to the right.
Gene - July 8, 2003 11:14 pm
Whuffie features prominently in Cory Doctorow's <i>Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom</i>. Here's a definition: "Whuffie embodies respect, karma, mad-props; call it what you will, the web runs on it." (http://www.craphound.com/down/archives/2003_01.php#000023)
Also, there's this from the official DAOITMK blog:
Q: Where does the word Whuffie come from?
A: It's just a made-up word we used interchangably with "Brownie Points" in high-school. Some people have suggested that it might have come from the Arsenio Hall show's "woof woof woof" noises.
(http://www.craphound.com/down/archives/2003_01.php#000038)
Steven Perry - July 9, 2003 10:19 am
Now let's try and figure out how DAOITMK is pronounced!
Scott - July 9, 2003 12:00 pm
Alan don't you mean HuFi recording? ;)
Steven Garrity - July 9, 2003 12:06 pm
Sarcasm is hard to do well on the web (it's also a refuge for the cowardly and weak-minded - but that's another issue all together) - Perhaps I should have whipped out my <span class="code"><sarcasm></span> tags.
That said, we actually do use the term wuffie around the office in a are-we-being-sarcastic--I-don't-even-know-anymore kinda way.
Scott's got it. Huffie - nice.
Also, I am aware that the term wuffie is used in Doctorow's book, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. I even have an alternatively-style HTML version of the book here on this site. Highly recommended.
Alan - July 9, 2003 1:04 pm
Beneith the sarcasm, isn't there the preliminary question of the validity of imposed or correct pronunciation? Porsche owners pronounce the final "-e" to make a point to others - you do not own a Porsche. In a world where some say "bagle" as "bay-gle" while others say "beg-le" and other "bah-gle", can vagaries of accents in vowels ever be fixed by an authority?
Jamie Hagen - July 10, 2003 12:15 pm
OR you could go a completely different way. This is how I read it when i first saw it. Yes I know.
Jamie Hagen - July 10, 2003 12:16 pm
There.
Nick Burka - July 10, 2003 12:48 pm
I too pronouce it foe-en-et-ick-all-ee.
Digg-it-all Wiff-ee.