SHORT WORDS-AND LONG.

Putaruru Press, Volume VII, Issue 298, 25 July 1929, Page 4

SHORT WORDS-AND LONG.

PITFALLS IN ENGLISH. It is said that the longest word in the English language is discs tablishmentarianism. At least one can say it with comparative ease and with a fair amount of understanding. But what is one to say of the words that scientists insist on using. Hence, for instance, is a sentence written by a botanist: ca

The hydroid of a Pcterldophyte or of a Phanerogram is characteristically a dead, usually elongated cell containing air or water, either thinwalled with lignified spiral, or annular thickenings, or with thick lignified walls, incompletely perforated by pits (usually bordered pits) of various shapes, e.g., the pits may be separated by a network of thickenings when the tracheid is reticulate or they may be transversely elongated and separated by bars of thickening like the rungs of a ladder (sculariform thickenings). Add to this such words as microporophylls or pareachymatous and on a may be pardoned if somewhat bewi.dered.

There is a ray of hope, however. According to Professor Otto Jesperson of Denmark, English is discarding a language of monosyllables. British authorities declare that the mode of sneech in Canada and other domin■ons is responsible for this. At any rate, while we still scumble over scientific terminology, there is comfort in the thought that we never had to set up an advertisement for a roof-paper tar company in Finland, which would have to call itself a “ huopapaperitervakattotervateldaso - And think how distressing it must be for reporters in Denmark when they have to call the oid ago pensions law the “varemaerkeindregistrerenksgontrolkalerne.” We speak of the “drys” in Alberta, but in Poland they call the prohibition movement the “wztzemiezliwosc.”

After all these samples are all for the short and simple word, and the shorter the better.—Edmonton Journal.