Anti-Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia

Got you!!! I know you just made a grab for your dictionary. Or at least you attempted to do so but your inherent inertia stopped you:). Yes, yes, yes!!! You do not know the extent of my mirth. If you can imagine, I was almost in the striking distance of nirvana. To be honest, I googled up the word, its not a part of my vocabulary (if that is any relief to you). But the satisfaction of using a “bombastic” word, however archaic or just concocted, is to be experienced rather than described.
The practice of using high flowing words is especially obvious in the so called “third world” countries; countries where the English language was imposed, where an alternate “mother tongue” exists (there is no reason why Britons would ever mug up “Word Power made Easy”). In such a scenario, the use of English language becomes a status symbol, a sort of new-age caste system. A Brahmin of olden days, however impoverished, could look at the richest man in the village with scorn and disdain, all cause of his standing in the social order. In the modern context, when caste system has lost its relevance, we have, thanks to the munificent Britons, another differentiator; a new excuse for the even the poor to feel superior to the richest in the land. Thanks grandiloquent English, thou art a perfect equalizer.
I remember a particular incident during my college days when a set of boisterous guys amongst us pulled off a particularly amusing/embarrassing (depending on the side you are in) prank. That they were punished is a different matter; prior to the punishment however, there was a public notice to inform all the hostel inmates of their misdemeanor (the intention being public humiliation). The notice was composed by an ardent lover of the English language and when it was put up, half of us weren’t sure if the notice was complimentary or accusatory. The substance of the notice took three readings to discern; the deduction of the tone was left to the reader (you cannot have a teacher appreciating a particularly severe breach in rule right).
Someone (I am not sure who (s)he is; I presume someone with wisdom to state the following would be great) said “Words are like leaves; in places where they abound, the fruit of wisdom of hardly ever found”. I call the person great not because he has recommended the sparse use of words; rather he has given the reason why we (me in particular) use too numerous a word. God intended language to be an effective tool to communicate ideas, thoughts and feelings. Symbols and sounds were meant to bridge the gap between minds. Try applying this definition to a legal document – all the structures of the language are used to such optimum extent that, within the first line, you lose yourself. Words were meant to be magnifying glass; we have turned them into iron curtains, protecting the flimsiest of our thought. Some of the diplomatic and corporate communications would put even the famed Enigma cipher to shame.
This post is proof enough that this is not a dying phenomenon - the post is verbose enough, yet the article has not added anything to what the title said. And for those of you who have not yet garnered energy to look up the meaning of the title, Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia is the fear of long words and anti-hippo…blahblah is the opposite of that, i.e., love for long words. As even google couldn’t find a single word for love for long words, I got creative:).