I didnāt cite any reasons and I didnāt say that there is a correct and incorrect way to pronounce it now, just that the way they chose to pronounce it originally was arbitrary and unintuitive. Add a ātā to the end, what does that spell? The pronunciations of giraffe and gin are equally unintuitive to modern American English speakers, theyāre just old words that have been well-established in the lexicon so no one thinks about that. If someone came up with the word gin today, weād probably be having the same argument about it.
And when I said itās the only argument, I meant itās the only one that holds any water. Itās still leaking all over the place.
Theyāre not unintuitive. Just because you think that doesnāt make it true. Tom Scott has a whole video on the topic, essentially however you first associate that word is how you think it should be pronounced. That doesnāt make it unintuitive, as would be evidenced by the pretty much 50/50 split of usage for soft g vs hard g for years. I had huge arguments about this back in like 2016/7 and it literally was a 50/50 split. Might have changed since then, but that doesnāt mean jack shit about intuitiveness.
Both pronunciations already had solid handholds in the zeitgeist by 2016, it was named 30 years before that. Iād argue the 50/50 split you provide nothing but hearsay for is proof that the hard g pronunciation is more intuitive as it was originally marketed and advertised with the soft g (and a pronunciation guide for the slogan as folks have helpfully pointed out). By your and Tom Scottās reasoning, everyone exposed to it then would use the soft g, but people in the decades after who knew nothing of the cheap marketing stunt would inevitably pronounce it however made the most sense to them. Thus the hard g pronunciation.
Now for my own personal hearsay, itās never been anywhere close to 50/50 and itās gotten more and more unbalanced towards the hard g over time. In 2011 it was maybe 70/30 hard g/soft g, now it feels like 95/5 š¤·āāļø. But again, thatās all obviously irrelevant due to itās subjectivity.
By your and Tom Scottās reasoning, everyone exposed to it then would use the soft g,
No by Tom Scottās explanation (not reasoning, he was stating actual science and scientific studies) exactly what has happened would have happened. People hear the word with a hard g and they forever associate it that way, even if it isnāt correct. It has nothing to do with how people think it should be pronounced or even the way that makes most sense to them. Itās about former associations with other words grabbing your mind at that moment and clicking. Doesnāt matter if you look back at it later and think (oh soft g makes sense cause itās the peanut butter). Youāll already have the hard g stuck.
I didnāt cite any reasons and I didnāt say that there is a correct and incorrect way to pronounce it now, just that the way they chose to pronounce it originally was arbitrary and unintuitive. Add a ātā to the end, what does that spell? The pronunciations of giraffe and gin are equally unintuitive to modern American English speakers, theyāre just old words that have been well-established in the lexicon so no one thinks about that. If someone came up with the word gin today, weād probably be having the same argument about it.
And when I said itās the only argument, I meant itās the only one that holds any water. Itās still leaking all over the place.
Theyāre not unintuitive. Just because you think that doesnāt make it true. Tom Scott has a whole video on the topic, essentially however you first associate that word is how you think it should be pronounced. That doesnāt make it unintuitive, as would be evidenced by the pretty much 50/50 split of usage for soft g vs hard g for years. I had huge arguments about this back in like 2016/7 and it literally was a 50/50 split. Might have changed since then, but that doesnāt mean jack shit about intuitiveness.
Both pronunciations already had solid handholds in the zeitgeist by 2016, it was named 30 years before that. Iād argue the 50/50 split you provide nothing but hearsay for is proof that the hard g pronunciation is more intuitive as it was originally marketed and advertised with the soft g (and a pronunciation guide for the slogan as folks have helpfully pointed out). By your and Tom Scottās reasoning, everyone exposed to it then would use the soft g, but people in the decades after who knew nothing of the cheap marketing stunt would inevitably pronounce it however made the most sense to them. Thus the hard g pronunciation.
Now for my own personal hearsay, itās never been anywhere close to 50/50 and itās gotten more and more unbalanced towards the hard g over time. In 2011 it was maybe 70/30 hard g/soft g, now it feels like 95/5 š¤·āāļø. But again, thatās all obviously irrelevant due to itās subjectivity.
No by Tom Scottās explanation (not reasoning, he was stating actual science and scientific studies) exactly what has happened would have happened. People hear the word with a hard g and they forever associate it that way, even if it isnāt correct. It has nothing to do with how people think it should be pronounced or even the way that makes most sense to them. Itās about former associations with other words grabbing your mind at that moment and clicking. Doesnāt matter if you look back at it later and think (oh soft g makes sense cause itās the peanut butter). Youāll already have the hard g stuck.