Download ArticleDownload ArticleThis article was co-authored by Stephanie Jeret. Stephanie Jeret is a Speech-Language Pathologist based in Northeastern Illinois. She works with children who stutter, have receptive/expressive language difficulties, and have articulation disorders/delays. She also works with adults who present with dysarthria, apraxia, aphasia, executive function disorder, and stuttering. She is certified by the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) and received their ACE Award for excellence in continuing education. She is also PROMPT Bridge Trained, Lidcombe Trained, and Lee Silverman Voice Therapy Certified. Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queens College and a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Brooklyn College.
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The fear of long words is ironically called hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia. It may seem daunting at first, but if you take your time and break the word up into pieces, it is actually quite easy to pronounce, some might think this phobia is made up but quite frankly it is the official fear of long words.
Things You Should Know
- Pronounce "hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia" like "hippo-pa-toe-mon-stro-ses-quipped-alley-oh-phobia."
Steps
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Know the word. It is hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia.[1]
Break the word into up into its root words. Hippopoto-monstro-sesuiquipedalio-phobia. Hippopoto is the misspelled form of Hippopotamus, Monstro comes from the Latin Monstrum, meaning Monster, Sesquipedalio comes from Sesquipedalian, a very long word, and lastly Phobia, an extreme or irrational fear of something.[2]Advertisement
Break the word up into easy to pronounce pieces. Hippo-poto-monstro-sesqui-pedalio-phobia.
Start with Hippo. It is pronounced Hi-poh.[3]
Follow with Poto. Pronounce it as Po-toh.
Next comes Monstro. Say Mon-stroh.
Then there is Sesqui. Pronounce Ses-kwee.
Say Pedalio. This is pronounced as Peh-dah-leejoh.
Finish with Phobia. Say it like Foh-beejah.
Practice saying each piece.
Pronounce the whole word. Hi-poh-po-toh-mon-stroh-ses-kwee-peh-dah-leejoh-foh-beeja.[4]
Practice the pronunciation until you can say the word without hesitations.[5]
Community Q&A
- QuestionWhy do people get scared of long words?
Community AnswerPeople have all different kinds of phobias (fears), some more unusual than others. There's really no explaining why it happens, people are just born that way. - QuestionHow do I stop being scared of long words?
Community AnswerYou could start with smaller words and slowly get into bigger words. - QuestionWhy are people scared of long words?Community AnswerIt depends for different people, because some may just not know the words while others may be legitimately intimidated by the words for several different reasons.
Tips
- Many people leave an ever so small pause between Hippopotomonstro and Sesquipedalophobia. This is because to prevent struggling with the word and for better pronunciation.Thanks
- If you can read the International Phonetic Alphabet, this may help to pronounce the word: /ˌhɪ.pə.pɒ.təˈmɒn.strəˌsɛ.skwɪ.pɪˈdeɪ.lɪəˌfoʊ.bɪə/.Thanks
Expert Interview
Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about speech pathology, check out our in-depth interview with Stephanie Jeret.
References
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