What Are The 10 Longest Words In English
Languages are unique and complex simply because so are the humans who create them. Everything in our lives is multilayered. You can’t look at a culture from one angle and try to understand all of it. There are many aspects of our personal lives that cannot be understood easily. In order to understand humans and their lives, we not only need to observe them in a better way but also keep an open mind. Every culture and language is unique, which is why we can’t use the same criteria to judge all of them. We need to look at all of them with neutral lenses so we can comprehend them.
The English Language:
There is something fascinating about languages, and none of us can deny that. Even those who have no interest in linguistics wish that they can speak more than one language. There is something remarkable about being able to understand people who speak a vernacular different than your mother tongue. Knowing their vernacular will introduce you to their culture, too. But it is not easy to learn a new vernacular. There are a few tongues that are considered easier to learn, and English is one of them. However, that does not mean it is simple.
The more you study the English language, the more you will learn of its uniqueness. It may appear simple on the surface, but it has many features that can frustrate a student. Even native speakers get confused about some of its features from time to time. But due to its importance in the world, many people continue to study it every day. It has more importance in the world today than any language ever had. You can find an English speaker in any part of the world. The popularity of vernacular will only increase in the future.
What are the 10 Longest Words in English?
Words make up the vocabulary of a language, and English has a lot of them. It should come as no surprise to people that it is the vernacular in which some words are only made up of two letters while others are made up of a dozen. But huge words are not that common in this tongue, unlike a few other languages. There are also a few factors that decide whether or not something can be considered a word. For instance, there is a protein with 189,819 letters in its name. But that isn’t considered a word, just like the chemical name of E. coli.
Here are the ten longest words in the English language:
- Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis:
This is the longest word in the Oxford English dictionary. It was created as a synonym for the disease silicosis. The disease is caused by inhaling crystalline silica dust. It is an occupational disease.
- Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia:
This is an actual phobia of long words. Ironic, right? Although it is the name of fear, it is not considered a word by a few dictionaries.
- Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious:
This word’s origin is unknown, so many linguists refuse to accept it as one. It is considered a nonsense word. It became famous after it was used in the Mary Poppins film and musical. It is people’s love for movies and fictional worlds that have kept it alive.
- Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism:
This is another medical term on this list. It is an inherited disorder. It was named so due to its similarity with pseudohypoparathyroidism. The disorder cannot be cured completely. But the symptoms can be treated.
- Floccinaucinihilipilification:
This is the longest non-technical word, which is why a few people have heard of it. It can be used to refer to the act of regarding something unimportant. It was created by combining various Latin stems.
- Antidisestablishmentarianism:
Due to a lack of usage, a lot of dictionaries don’t accept this one. It originated in Britain in the 19th century. It was coined to refer to the political position of people who opposed disestablishment.
- Honorificabilitudinitatibus:
Many consider this to be a Latin word since it was derived from one. But its usage in the work of Shakespeare gave it importance. It means ‘the state of being able to achieve honors.’
- Incomprehensibilities:
It was considered to be the longest word in common usage in the 1990s. However, it seems like it has gone out of use because hardly anyone can claim to use it in their daily conversations.
- Sesquipedalianism:
If you hate it when people use big and complicated terms in conversation, then now you have a name for them. Sesquipedalianism can be used to describe the tendency of people to use long words. Anyone who possesses this trait will love this list.
- Uncopyrightable:
If something cannot be copyrighted, then it is uncopyrightable. It may not have a lot of letters, but it does not repeat any, which is why it made it to this list.
Every vernacular has terms that are hard to pronounce and remember. But with time and dedication, anything can be learned. This is how millions of people ended up becoming fluent in English despite not learning it as their native tongue. And even now, many continue to study the vernacular. Despite having complicated terms, it is still simpler than a lot of other vernaculars. Many tongues have difficult pronunciation rules, which can make it almost impossible for non-natives to learn them completely. But the love of culture and languages often allow us to accomplish the impossible.
