Pronounce GIF · the Correct Way, Without Question

Also I will keep saying "hard G" until I drop dead!!

That said, I'm actually curious about this one:

> For the Lip-Readers and Hearing Impaired

Is there any basis to this particular claim? Are there other words in English that are best avoided for the sake of lip readers?

EDIT: Additionally, I've never heard anyone say po-tah-to or toe-mah-to outside of the song. Where does this urge come from?

I took a look at onelook for all "gi*" words, sorted by commonness [1]. Out of the first 30 words I count using the ⟨ɪ⟩ sound, I see:

- 19 with a Hard G (gift, gig, gill, gilt, gigabyte, give, gibbous, gild, git, giggle, gingham, ginkgo, giddy, gimlet, gibbon, gifted, gimp, gilding, gimmick)

- 11 with a Soft G (ginger, gin, gingivitis, ginseng, gist, giraffe, gibbet, gib, gibberish, giblets, gingerly)

This isn't an argument one way or another, but it seems to discount the entire first argument. It seems that the author is performing a bit of a sleight of hand by focusing on the entire class of "front vowels," instead of the specifics of the ⟨ɪ⟩ sound, because otherwise the numbers wouldn't work out nearly as well. Also, front and back vowels aren't nearly as simple as "I, E, Y = front" and "A, O, U = non-front. ⟨a⟩, the a in "hat" is a front vowel, for instance.[2] And you'll never find a soft g before ⟨a⟩.

1. https://onelook.com/?w=gi*&ssbp=1

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_front_unrounded_vowel