delitomatoes@lemm.ee to Showerthoughts@lemmy.world · 10 months agoIf you nicknamed a Giraffe "Giff" how would you pronounce it?message-squaremessage-square42fedilinkarrow-up182arrow-down130
arrow-up152arrow-down1message-squareIf you nicknamed a Giraffe "Giff" how would you pronounce it?delitomatoes@lemm.ee to Showerthoughts@lemmy.world · 10 months agomessage-square42fedilink
minus-squareϻеƌųʂɑ@sh.itjust.workslinkfedilinkEnglisharrow-up1·10 months ago“Giraffe” etymologistically speaking has roots in the Middle East, giving it a “je” sound: jarraf, zarafa, et al spoiler “ultimately from Persian زُرنَاپَا (zurnāpā), a compound of زُرنَا (zurnā, “flute, zurna”) and پَا (pā, “leg”)”. So if it’s “Giff” like “giraffe” - /dʒɪf/ - soft g like “George”. If it’s named after someone with a name like Kathy Lee Gifford, then hard G.
“Giraffe” etymologistically speaking has roots in the Middle East, giving it a “je” sound: jarraf, zarafa, et al
spoiler
“ultimately from Persian زُرنَاپَا (zurnāpā), a compound of زُرنَا (zurnā, “flute, zurna”) and پَا (pā, “leg”)”.
So if it’s “Giff” like “giraffe” - /dʒɪf/ - soft g like “George”. If it’s named after someone with a name like Kathy Lee Gifford, then hard G.