The fear of long words is ironically called hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia. This may seem difficult at first, but if you take the time and separate the word into sections, it's actually easy to pronounce. Some people may think this phobia is far-fetched, but it's actually a fear of long words.
Step
Step 1. Know the word
The word is hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia.
Step 2. Separate words according to their roots
Hippopoto-monstro-sesuiquipedalio-phobia. Hippopoto is a misspelled form of Hippopotamus, Monstro comes from the Latin Monstrum, meaning Monster, the Sesquipedalio part comes from Sesquipedalian, a very long word, and finally Phobia, an irrational fear of something.
Step 3. Break the word into easy-to-pronounce parts
Hippo-poto-monstro-sesqui-pedalio-phobia.
Step 4. Start with Hippo
This part is pronounced Hi-po.
Step 5. Continue with Poto
Pronounce it like Po-to.
Step 6. Next is the Monstro section
Say Monstro.
Step 7. Then there is the Sesqui section
Pronounce it like Ses-kui.
Step 8. Say the Pedalio
This passage is pronounced like Pe-da-lio.
Step 9. End by saying Phobia
Say it like Phobia.
Step 10. Practice pronouncing each part
Step 11. Pronounce the whole word
Hi-po-po-to-mon-stro-ses-kui-pe-da-lio-fo-bia.
Step 12. Practice pronouncing it until you can say the word without hesitation
Tips
- Many people give a very short gap between Hippopotomonstro and Sesquipedalophobia. This is done to avoid difficulty pronouncing the word and result in better pronunciation.
- If you can read the International Phonetic Alphabet it can help to pronounce the word: /ˌhɪ.pə.pɒ.təˈmɒn.strəˌsɛ.skwɪ.pɪˈdeɪ.lɪəˌfoʊ.bɪə/.
