Kristinn Leifsson Inquiry

[Ray T. Bentley]

Wow, Kristinn, I didn't mean to start all this!  But, since the word was 
presented to me as Icelandic, I thought you would be qualified to debunk it!
I think you have seen that it has been accordingly debunked!  Many thanks.

Ray

----------
>From: Kristinn Leifsson <istuner@islandia.is>
>To: pianotech@ptg.org
>Subject: Re: Kristinn Leifsson Inquiry
>Date: Wed, Apr 26, 2000, 1:19 PM
>

>
> At 11:35 26.4.2000 -0500, you wrote:
>>When I was in sixth grade my teacher taught me a word that she said was the
>>longest word in the world.  She said it was the name of a small town in
>>Iceland.  I have never been able to find it on a map.  Does such a place
>>exist there?  Or was she all wet!
>>
>>
>>The word:
>>
>>Abericonymbustexiwazenfadigapeljarquivinek
>>
>>Ray T. Bentley, RPT
>>Alton, IL, USA
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> Dear Ray,
>
> what an honour this is, to have a whole thread named after ME!
>
> NO this is not a word in Icelandic.
> It´s total bullshit and I hope this doesn´t reflect the education standard
> there.
>
> One can see this mishmash of words is made up of something resembling
> Latin, German, Spanish, French and with a little Inuit taste at the end.
>
>
> Of course, if I wanted, I could make you a very long word in Icelandic.
> For example:
> Vaðlaheiðarvegavinnuverkfærageymsluskúrslykill
>
> This means; the key to the tool shack the road construction crew has on
> Vaðlaheiði (a moor somewhere in Iceland).
>
> In Icelandic, as in many other germanic languages, the nouns are most
> commonly put together in one.  So a "piano tuner" would be "píanóstillari"
> made of the words "píanó" (piano for the more lingually challenged out
> there) and "stillari" (tuner)
> But long words like the a-f-o-r-e-m-e-n-t-i-o-n-e-d are basically just a
> bunch of skítur.
>
> The longest name of a town in the world is the one below, which is in
> Wales, and has a newly developed web page.
>
> www.llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.com
>
> It´s even worse than the one you gave me:)
>
> Regards,
>
> Kristinn Leifsson,
> Reykjavík, Iceland
>
>
> P.S.
>
>
>
>
> Cached copy of=20
> http://www.webspinning.com.au/users1/lambertj/public_html/long.html=20
> follows... RK
>
> =
> an answer to the silly question
> what is the longest word in the english language?
>
>
>
>
> Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (34 letters) was made famous by=20
> the Walt Disney movie 'Mary Poppins' (1964), though it has been=20
> recorded earlier, going way back to the 1940s. Once again a joke=20
> word, it first appeared in comedy songs, of which the humour was=20
> supplied by the ridiculousness of the word. Nowadays it is used (also=20
> in a shortened version supercalifragilistic) to mean 'amazingly=20
> excellent', etc.
>
> One sly answer to the question of what is the longest word would be=20
> DDT, for its full title is dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (31=20
> letters). This is longer than antidis... and flocci... and is more=20
> likely to be considered a 'real' word than the slightly longer=20
> supercali... Also, three letters are easier to remember than 31. It=20
> is the longest in the Macquarie Dictionary.
>
> Many of these long words were collected by Josefa Heifetz Byrne in=20
> her wonderful dictionary Mrs Byrne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure=20
> and Preposterous Words (1974).
>
> The longest word to appear in standard English dictionaries is=20
> pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis. This is the name of a=20
> lung disease suffered by miners. It first appeared in Webster's New=20
> International Dictionary and then alter in the second edition of the=20
> Oxford English Dictionary.
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> List
> Llanfairpwllgwyngyll - 20 (longest place name; Welsh)
>
> humuhumunukunukuapuaa - 21
>
> dihydroxyphenylalanine - 22
>
> hexamethylenetetramine - 22
>
> pseudomonocotyledonous - 22
>
> honorificabilitudinity - 22
>
> interdenominationalism - 22
>
> gynotikolobomassophile - 22
>
> bathysiderodromophobia - 22
>
> dichlorodifluoromethane - 23
>
> polytetrafluoroethylene - 23
>
> quasihemidemisemiquaver - 23
>
> inanthropomorphisability - 24
>
> sphragidonychargokometes - 24 (Ancient Greek)
>
> pseudorhombicuboctahedron - 25
>
> honorificabilitudintatibus - 26 (longest in Shakespeare)
>
> antidisestablishmentarianism - 28
>
> tetramethyldiamidobenzhydrols - 29
>
> floccinaucinihilipilification - 29 (longest in OED 1st ed.)
>
> hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian - 30 (Mrs Byrne's Dict.)
>
> dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane - 31 (longest in Macquarie Dict.)
>
> praetertranssubstantionalistically - 34 (M McShane)
>
> supercalifragilisticexpialidocious - 34
>
> necropurogeohydrocheirocoscinomancy - 35 (Thomas Tomkis)
>
> cholangiocholecystocholedochectomies - 36 (Mrs Byrne's Dict.)
>
> hepaticocholangiocholecystenterostomies - 39 (Gould's Medical Dict.)
>
> osteoarch'matosplanchnochondroneuromuelous- 42 (TL Peacock)
>
> pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis - 45 (longest in OED=20
> 2nd ed. & Websters)
>
> antipericatametaanaparcircumvolutiorectumgustpoops - 50 (Rabelais)
>
> aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriolic - 52 (Mrs=20
> Byrne's Dict.; chem)
>
> osseocarnisanguineoviscericartilagninonervomedullary - 52 (TL Peacock)
>
> bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarr=20
> hounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk - 100 (James Joyce)
>
> orniscopytheobibliopsychocrystarroscioaerogenethliometeoroaustrohier=20
> oanthropoichthyopyrosiderochpnomyoalectryoophiobotanopegohydrorhabdo=20
> crithoaleuroalphitohalomolybdoclerobeloaxinocoscinodactyliogeolithop=20
> essopsephocatoptrotephraoneirochiroonychodactyloarithstichooxogelosc=20
> ogastrogyrocerobletono=A7noscapulinaniac
> - 310 (not a real word - see appendix 2)
>
> acetylseryltyrosylserylisoleucylthreonylserylprolylserylglutaminylph=20
> enylalanylvalylphenylalanylleucylserylserylvalyltryptophylalanylaspa=20
> rtylprolylisoleucylglutamylleucylleucylasparaginylvalylcysteinylthre=20
> onylserylserylleucylglycylasparaginylglutaminylphenylalanylglutaminy=20
> lthreonylglutaminylglutaminylalanylarginylthreonylthreonylglutaminyl=20
> valylglutaminylglutaminylphenylalanylserylglutaminylvalyltryptophyll=20
> ysylprolylphenylalanylprolylglutaminylserylthreonylvalylarginylpheny=20
> lalanylprolylglycylaspartylvalyltyrosyllysylvalyltyrosylarginyltyros=20
> ylasparaginylalanylvalylleucylaspartylprolylleucylisoleucylthreonyla=20
> lanylleucylleucylglycylthreonylphenylalanylaspartylthreonylarginylas=20
> paraginylarginylisoleucylisoleucylglutamylvalylglutamylasparaginylgl=20
> utaminylglutaminylserylprolylthreonylthreonylalanylglutamylthreonyll=20
> eucylaspartylalanylthreonylarginylarginylvalylaspartylaspartylalanyl=20
> threonylvalylalanylisoleucylarginylserylalanylasparaginylisoleucylas=20
> paraginylleucylvalylasparaginylglutamylleucylvalylarginylglycylthreo=20
> nylglycylleucyltyrosylasparaginylglutaminylasparaginylthreonylphenyl=20
> alanylglutamylserylmethionylserylglycylleucylvalyltryptophylthreonyl=20
> serylalanylprolylalanylserine
> - 1,185 (chem. in Mrs Byrne's Dict. See appendix 2)
>
> methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamylserylleucylphenylalanylalan=20
> ylglutaminylleucyllysylglutamylarginyllysylglutamylglycylalanylpheny=20
> lalanylvalylprolylphenylalanylyalylthreonylleucylglycylaspartylproly=20
> lglycylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylserylleucyllysylisoleucylaspartylt=20
> hreonylleucylisoleucylglutamylalanylglycylalanylaspartylalanylleucyl=20
> glutamylleucylglycylisoleucylprolylphenylalanylserylaspartylprolylle=20
> ucylalanylaspartylglycylprolylthreonylisoleucylglutaminylasparaginyl=20
> alanylthreonylleucylarginylalanylphenylalanylalanylalanylglycylvalyl=20
> threonylprolylalanylglutaminylcysteinylphenylalanylglutamylmethionyl=20
> leucyalanylleucylisoleucylarginylglutaminyllysylhistidylprolylthreon=20
> ylisoleucylprolylisoleucylglycylleucylleucylmethionyltyrosylalanylas=20
> paraginylleucylvalylphenylalanylasparaginyllysylglycylisoleucylaspar=20
> tylglutamylphenylalanyltyrosylalanylglutaminylcysteinylglutamyllysyl=20
> valylglycylvalylaspartylserylvalylleucylvalylalanylaspartylvalylprol=20
> ylvalylglutaminylglutamylserylalanylprolylphenylalanylarginylglutami=20
> nylalanylalanylleucylarginylhistidylasparaginylvalylalanylprolylisol=20
> eucylphenylalanylisoleucylcysteinylprolylprolylaspartylalanylasparty=20
> laspartylaspartylleucylleucylarginylglutaminylisoleucylalanylserylty=20
> rosylglycylarginylglycyltyrosylthreonyltyrosylleucylleucylserylargin=20
> ylalanylglycylvalylthreonylglycylalanylglutamylasparaginylarginylala=20
> nylalanylleucylprolylleucylasparaginylhistidylleucylvalylalanyllysyl=20
> leucyllysylglutamyltyrosylasparaginylalanylalanylprolylprolylleucylg=20
> lutaminylglycylphenylalanylglycylisoleucylserylalanylprolylaspartylg=20
> lutaminylvalyllysylalanylalanylisoleucylaspartylalanylglycylalanylal=20
> anylglycylalanylisoleucylserylglycylserylalanylisoleucylvalyllysylis=20
> oleucylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylhistidylasparaginylisoleucylglutam=20
> ylprolylglutamyllysylmethionylleucylalanylalanylleucyllysylvalylphen=20
> ylalanylvalylglutaminylprolylmethionyllysylalanylalanylthreonylargin=20
> ylserine
> - 1,913 (chem. in Mrs Byrne's Dict. See appendix 2)
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Appendix 1
>
> The longest headwords from the Macquarie Dictionary second edition
> dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane - 31
> antidisestablishmentarianism - 28
> antidisestablishmentarian - 25
> dichlorodifluoromethane - 23
> polytetrafluoroethylene - 23
> dihydroxyphenylalanine - 22
> hexamethylenetetramine - 22
> overcommercialisation - 21
> disestablishmentarian - 21
> audiomagnetotellurics - 21
> electroencephalograph - 21
> overindustrialisation - 21
> trichloronitromethane - 21
> hydrodesulphurisation - 21 (1st ed. - respelled with 'f' in 2nd ed.)
> uncharacteristically - 20
> counterdemonstration - 20
> electroencephalogram - 20
> hydrodesulfurisation - 20 (2nd ed. spelling)
> Llanfairpwllgwyngyll - 20 (Welsh place name)
> magnetohydrodynamics - 20
> microminiaturisation - 20
> tetrahydrocannabinol - 20
> tetraiodofluorescein - 20
> antinationalisation - 19
> self-dissatisfaction - 19
> unconscientiousness - 19
> unselfconsciousness - 19
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Appendix 2
> 310 orniscop...
> This 310 letter word that appears in the list is not really a word at=20
> all. The word which appeared in Ripley The Omnibus Believe It Or Not,=20
> (1931). With the note that:
>
> ``THE long word of 310 letters was used as a means of demonstrating:=20
> 1. The extent to which even the English language is capable of=20
> forming enormous word monsters, and, 2. The whole field of=20
> superstitious divinatory practices which are as old as humanity. The=20
> literal translation of the long word is "A deluded human who=20
> practices divination or forecasting by means of phenomena,=20
> interpretation of acts or other manifestations related to the=20
> following animate or inanimate objects and appearances: birds,=20
> oracles, Bible, ghosts, crystal gazing, shadows, air appearances,=20
> birth stars, meteors, winds, sacrificial appearances, entrails of=20
> humans and fishes, fire, red-hot irons, altar smoke, mice, barley,=20
> salt, lead, dice, arrows, hatchet balance, sieve, ring suspension,=20
> random dots, precious stones, pebbles, pebble heaps, mirrors, ash=20
> writing, dreams, palmistry, nail rays, finger rings, numbers, book=20
> passages, name letterings, laughing manners, ventriloquism, circle=20
> walking, wax, susceptibility to hidden springs, wine and shoulder=20
> blades. Various monastic author of the Middle Ages writing on the=20
> subject of human superstition have actually used such a long word=20
> with a slightly varying sequence of items.''
>
> It is clearly NOT a word of the 'Middle Ages' since it uses word=20
> elements that do not date back that far, for example the '-bletono-'=20
> refers to Bletonism a word which first appeared in the C19th. I=20
> assume that Ripley merely concocted it himself. It is merely a list=20
> of the first elements of a set words ending in -mancy (eg theomancy,=20
> bibliomancy, etc.) all stuck together in one long line. Furthermore=20
> it plainly is derived from the set of such words that appeared in=20
> Roget's Thesaurus (under the head prediction 511), for the order of=20
> the elements follows exactly non-alphabetical ordering of Roget's.=20
> One assumes that the terminal element -naniac is a mistake.=20
> Presumably it should be a derivative of -mancy (the usual=20
> occupational agent termination being -mancer). Possibly -maniac was=20
> meant, it being etymologically related.
>
> 1,185 acetyl...
> 1,913 methion...
> These last two words are respectively, the chemical name of the=20
> protein part of the tobacco mosaic virus (C785H1220N212O248S2), and=20
> the chemical name for tryptophan synthetase A protein. These appear=20
> in Mrs Byrne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure and Preposterous Words.
>
> The Thomas Love Peacock words are from Headlong Hall 1816 [published=20
> (along with Nightmare Abbey) in the 'World's Classics' series, OUP,=20
> 1929: xi. 90-1]
>
> The Thomas Tomkis word is from his 1615 play Albumazar.
>
> The Shakespearian word comes from Love's Labour's Lost V.i. Not a=20
> coinage of Shakespeare's though. It is the ablative plural of the=20
> Latin honorificabilitudintas, which is an extension of=20
> honorificabilis meaning 'honorableness'. It first occurs in English=20
> in 1599, used by Thomas Nashe.
>
> The Mark McShane word is from his novel Untimely Ripped 1963.
>
> The Rabelaisian word appears in Gargantua and Pantagruel occurring=20
> there as a title of a book=20
> "Antipericatametaanaparcircumvolutiorectumgustpoops of the Coprofied".
>
> The Joycean concoction is, not surprisingly, from Finnegan's Wake. it=20
> is meant to represent the thunder-clap that accompanied Adam & Eve in=20
> the Fall. Other 100-letter long words appear in the book
>
>
>
>