Sesquipedalianism
Sesquipedalianism is a linguistic style that involves the use of long words. It might be characterised as polysyllabic holophrastic verbalism.
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[edit] Origins of the term
Horace coined the phrase sesquipedalia verba in his Ars Poetica.[1][2] It is an agglutinative exocentric compound of sesqui and pes, meaning 'one and a half feet long', with reference both to size and hypermetry. The earliest recorded usage in English of 'sesquipedalian' is in 1656, and of 'sesquipedalianism', 1863.[3]
[edit] Motivations
The sesquipedalian may be seeking (1) lexical precision; (2) to demonstrate the benefits of erudition; (3) to disempower intellectual challenge.[4]
[edit] Criticisms
The efficacy of sesquipedalianism has been questioned since the origins of the term: Horace reminds the reader that 'gigantic expressions', along with rants, are set aside by characters 'if they have a mind to move the heart of the spectator with their complaint'.[2] More recently it has been alleged that it is a form of obscurantism that seeks 'by using logomachinations to divert discussion to the establishment of the opponent's comprehension of the vocabulary'.[4]
[edit] See also
- Elegant variation
- Dumbing down
- Self-parody
- Stylistics (linguistics)
- Register (sociolinguistics)
- Grandiloquence
- The long-podded cowpea
- Nonscience (book)
[edit] References
- ^ "Ars Poetica, l.97". Perseus Project. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0064%3Acard%3D73. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
- ^ a b "Ars Poetica (translation), l.97". Perseus Project. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0065%3Acard%3D73. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
- ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C. (1989). The Oxford English Dictionary (Second Edition). Oxford University Press.
- ^ a b "Sesquipedalian Obscurantism". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A640207. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
