G-gem gib or g-golf -gib?

Passing thought. Am wondering, after coming across the need to do some adjusting, if the word gib is pronounced with a hard or a soft g sound? Or is it personal preference. Not v. important but I am one of those almost (!) OCD types who needs to know.

Chris Bason

As someone self taught, from books, before the days of internet videos, I wondered about that too.

Try This Entry in the OED with your sound card turned on; click on the little loudspeaker symbol.

Bill

G - Golf is how I pronounce it.

Ian S C

Me too; I'm always of the opinion that 'Jib' version refers to the after mast of a ship or the main beam of a crane... 'crane jib'

George.

I'll ask Barry Jibb...

My 'Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles' dates 'Gib' defined as 'A piece of wood or metal used to keep some part of a machine etc in place' to 1794. The word is also a verb. It's of unknown origin, unlike gib as in crane which is derived from Gibbet.

The dictionary confirms that both pronunciations are valid. It's another case 'Tomato, tomato let's call the whole thing off'...

Dave

Hmmm... perhaps, but except in the song, nobody I've ever asked has ever heard anybody say 'potarto'...

I'm also a hard gib speaker, not as in Gibraltar.

I once worked with lady called Gill Gill. Now that caused a few problems with some customers!

It’s a soft g for me, but I am often wrong according to my wife.

Mike

I've often wondered why Americans - who mostly speak and pronounce English just as we do - come completely unstuck occasionally, for example 'buoy' and 'route'. They say 'Booee' and 'rout', we say 'Boy' and 'root'.

Many US/British differences are either old-English survivals ('fall' and 'autumn' ), or deliberate misspellings introduced to promote separate national identity ( theater, rumor, aluminum etc), or distance caused us to go with alternatives (sidewalk and pavement). None of these mechanisms explains why a few identically spelt words should pronounced radically differently.

Any Americans able to explain why buoy is pronounced 'booeee'?

Dave

Edit: pesky smileys...

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 08/10/2018 14:42:30

Many US/British differences are either old-English survivals ('fall' and 'autumn' ), or deliberate misspellings introduced to promote separate national identity ( theater, rumor, aluminum etc), or distance caused us to go with alternatives (sidewalk and pavement). None of these mechanisms explains why a few identically spelt words should pronounced radically differently.

Old Noah made a deliberate attempt to "de-Francophise" English spelling (odd for a country with it's historical relation to France). Probably why much American spelling has never been imported to Canada (it would be PI).

Any Americans able to explain why buoy is pronounced 'booeee'?

"Boy" can have different connotations in the US ?

American English and British English grow ever closer though .... and not because Americans are coming around to the British way.

Hard G for me - as my brother says, if it was pronounced Jib it would be spelt Jib.

I once asked a friend if he said neether or niether. He replied nayther. Sometimes you just can't win.

George B.

Shouldn’t George be spelt with a J in that case?

Mike

It's closer to the original Dutch pronunciation of (something like) boeie.

Neil

Well said - Jeorgineer!

Anyone else here been to Gibraltar?

Neil

Why, how do they say it there?

Me, I gust jot a sight of it on the horizon once.

Edited By Mick B1 on 09/10/2018 08:33:34

A sailing boat can tack or gybe, the latter pronounced jibe. The strip that makes my machine slides snug for me is a jib strip but spelt with a g.

When stuffing a chicken...you don't say ' I am pulling me Giblets out ' with a hard G .