GIF is followed by an I. The problem with Wilhite’s thinking is how we see acronyms. Are they their own words or do they stand for something? Is BBC a word? Buhbuhck? Or is it B-B-C. If you ...

And is there in fact a right way to pronounce gif? Case closed? Not so fast. Although there are more soft g words, they don't get used as often. The least common word in the entire list was ...

like in “GIF” and “JIF.” The letter G can mimic a J sound, but never the reverse. In fact, this is exactly what the spelling bee wants spellers to learn — the mechanics of words.

As John McWhorter, author of “Words on the Move,” writes, “English spelling is a tragic accident that steers us away from what’s happening in our mouths.” Languages like Italian or ...