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For the Baroque dance, see giga- (symbol: ''G'') is a ''. When referring to Computing information units, such as Gigabit or Gigabyte , ''giga-'' can sometimes mean 1,073,741,824 (230), but can also denote 1,000,000,000 (109). The exact definition being used is ambiguous, and must be determined from context. The binary prefix Gibi - has been standardized for 230, while reserving giga- exclusively for 109, to resolve this ambiguity, but has yet to achieve widespread usage. See Binary Prefix . PRONUNCIATION In English the initial G of ''giga'' can be pronounced with a soft G (as in ''gigantic'') or with a hard G (as in ''giggle''). According to the American writer Self, in the 1920s a German committee member of the International Electrotechnical Commission proposed giga- as a prefix for 109, drawing on a verse by the humorous poet Christian Morgenstern that appeared in the third (1908) edition of ''Galgenlieder'' (Gallows Songs). This suggests a hard German ''g'' was originally intended as the pronunciation. Self was unable to ascertain at what point the soft ''g'' pronunciation became accepted, but as of 1995 current practice had returned to hard ''g''.Kevin Self. (April 1995). "Technically speaking". ''Spectrum''. A prominent example of the soft G pronunciation is found in the 1985 movie '' Back To The Future '', where ''gigawatts'' was pronounced as ''jigawatts''. COMMON USAGE
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