Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness - Which I Think Is Greek For Clickbait

Today we are going to discuss the deliberate misuse of verbose syntax and contrarian vernacular for the purpose of appearing increasingly intelligent. Or more simply, using big words to sound smart.

There is a fancy, extra long word for this: Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness. (Loquacious would be an awesome rap name, DIBS). While I could not find much research to support that this is a "real" thing, it is popularly used and explained on TV and in movies. Characters that need to sound smart (doctors, scientists, crime scene investigators when they aren't making puns about incredibly violent crimes often involving the murder and mutilation of another human beings) will get a heaping helping of Sesqupedalian Loquaciousness in their dialogue.

Despite limited "real" definitions, the concept has been well-researched. In fact, most of the research supports that shorter words make you sound more intelligent when speaking. A study at Stanford in 2011 asked PhD students to read a dissertation abstract with any word longer than 9 letters replaced with the shortest synonym possible. The more simply stated dissertations were deemed less complex, and the writer's perceived as more intelligent. A follow-up study was done regarding famous philosophers and quotes. Translations of famous sayings from Descartes, Plato and other famous minds were presented to students, some with complex words and others with the simplest definitions. A heavy majority of the students found that the simple translations were more profound. Many stated that being able to take abstract concepts and put them in such simple terms must have been difficult and thus, the author must be intelligent.

Outside of television, there a few cases where SL (it is too long to type the whole thing out for a third time) appear. There have been studies that show that certain people with dyslexia may be more likely to speak in this way, to avoid any miscommunication. It can also be found in cases of Williams-Beuren Syndrome. More commonly known as Williams Syndrome or WS, this neurodevelopmental disorder (caused by the deletion of an arm of chromosome 7, for the genetics fans out there) is marked by numerous physical and cognitive effects. Individuals with WS have a considerably lower IQ (average: 62, compared with a typical average of 90-100) but often have an increase in vocabulary and short term memory retention. Compared to someone with a similar vocabulary, individuals with WS exhibit much greater social skills, picking up on social cues and using larger words and much more complicated sentence structure. (Interesting side point: a study of individuals with WS revealed that they are more trusting of strangers and that they show no racial bias).

Similar to SL, there is a Greek term "spermologer" which literally translates to "gathering seeds/scraps" but is used to describe someone who picks up and spreads random bits of knowledge. Often used to describe gossips, it is also used to describe someone that uses (or misuses) words or facts. Or in my case, random things that I found interesting enough to research and tell you about.