The King of the
Humdingers
Last
week's Grammar Granny focused on the importance of a phonics background in
being able to break down long, unfamiliar words into syllables so that you can
pronounce them and figure out what they mean, or at least try.
A
really long word that's relatively easy to remember because it's easy to
pronounce is:
Antidisestablishmentarianism
It
means a political viewpoint that it is OK to mix church and state, rather than
break them apart. To remember it, break it down into word parts: anti - dis -
establishment - arian - ism.
It
seems highly complex. But actually, it's a shortie, compared to some other
words. Here's the longest word in the English language - 45 letters! It's the
scientific name for black lung disease. Let's see how you do, pronouncing it:
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Whew!
Take a breath!
OK,
here's the "cheat sheet" from the dictionary definition, which always gives a
pronunciation guide before each word; saying it aloud can really help you
remember it, although you won't get any black marks if you don't memorize this
one instantly:
NOO-muh-noh-UL-truh-MY-kruh-SKOP-ik-SIL-i-koh-VOL-kay-no-koh-NEE-o-sis
Looking
at all the roots in the word, you can see how it has something to do with the
lungs (pneumo-), very small things (microscopic-), bits of sand (silico-),
blackness (volcano-) and is a medical syndrome (-iosis).
By Susan Darst Williams • www.GoBigEd.com • Grammar Granny
027 • © 2006