National Spelling Bee

QuantMech
Fri, 30 May 2014 15:48:13 +0000

I caught the end of the Bee in 2 parts, one when there were 6 contestants left, and then when they were down to 2. It was interesting to me that Sriram showed a just barely detectable reaction–like a blink or a small movement–when Ansun put the second o in antigropolos (really antigropelos). I think Sriram knew the root. In any event, it was a tremendous display of sportsmanship, because it put Sriram back in contention–but he wasn’t celebrating the error at all. Congratulations to both winners!

I agree with shellfell. The foreign words do seem easier. English words with indistinguishable schwa sounds and mixed language heritages are generally more difficult.