Bud Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Vanya Shivashankar, of Olathe, Kan., and Gokul Venkatachalam of Chesterfield, Mo are co-champs of the National Spelling Bee. Vanya's sister, Kavya Shivashankar, won in 2009. In last year's contest, Sriram Hathwar , an eighth grader from Painted Post, New York and Ansun Sujoe , a seventh grader from Fort Worth, Texas are co-champions of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The 2013 winner Arvind Mahankali became the sixth consecutive Indian-American winner and the 11th in the past 15 years, a run that began in 1999 when Nupur Lala captured the title in 1999 and was later featured in the documentary "Spellbound." What cultural influences are at work here? BTW I can not spell worth a darn. Never could, and now my dyslexia even is happening in my typing. Link to comment
elkroeger Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 "Vanya Shivashankar" "Gokul Venkatachalam" Kids with $100 names like those are destined to be GREAT spellers.... Link to comment
Bud Posted May 31, 2015 Author Share Posted May 31, 2015 Eric, I was beginning to wonder if I caused some kind of PC faux pas by posting this observation. It is all from the news and they media certainly didn't have a problem with reporting it. >100 views before your post. I found it extremely interesting and would love to know the back story on how this happened. It is not accidental. There are some kind of forces at work here. Is it cultural or something else? Dunno Link to comment
elkroeger Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 I dunno either. I suspect it's a complex problem, suitable for a good size research grant.... And likely nobody here has an answer. I suspect that it has something to do with that old phenomenon where some people coming from impoverished backgrounds work harder than most of us. But I'm no sociology professor. Link to comment
EffBee Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 "Vanya Shivashankar" "Gokul Venkatachalam" Kids with $100 names like those are destined to be GREAT spellers.... Actually, I think there may be something to that. And I don't think it's un-PC (as if I care). If you can spell those names, the names of your family members and those of others with whom you play who have similarly cultural names, you probably have an advanced sense of phonetics and alphabetic interplay. Add to that what is likely diligence, a commitment to excellence, and the understanding that a 16-year investment yields 60 years of higher returns, and you should have no problem with antidisestablishmentarianism Link to comment
TEWKS Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 antidisestablishmentarianism Can you use that in a sentence please? Pat Link to comment
Bud Posted May 31, 2015 Author Share Posted May 31, 2015 antidisestablishmentarianism Can you use that in a sentence please? Pat Of course. Antidisestablishmentarianism is often thought to be the longest word in the English language and very difficult to correctly spell. Link to comment
greiffster Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft Which is, of course, German for.... "Association for Subordinate Officials of the Head Office Management of the Danube Steamboat Electrical Services". No points if you miss the umlaut. Link to comment
Bud Posted May 31, 2015 Author Share Posted May 31, 2015 An eraser... I don't care if you are Tallman, that's funny! Link to comment
beemerman2k Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 I suspect that it has something to do with that old phenomenon where some people coming from impoverished backgrounds work harder than most of us. But I'm no sociology professor. This captures my thoughts as well. I am also with EffBee in that certain cultural traits can give one a certain disposition toward certain pursuits. At the end of the day, these kids have a shot at the kind of notoriety and opportunity that hasn't visited their lineage for centuries or even longer. Therefore, they work harder than others. And I think it's wonderful to behold--that is, the idea that dedication, determination, and hard work yields champions. No one gave it to them, and no one can take it away. Nice. Link to comment
Alan D Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 A friend of mine had a stroke and had to learn to spell again. He told me that spelling was a memory problem... we remember what a word looks like. Makes sense to me when I spell something and realize it just does not look right. Then spell check creates a different word. Link to comment
Mister Tee Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Yeah, yeah, yeah, but I challenge them to use the phrase "S'up dogg, brothas' be gettin' hyphe" in the correct context. Sheesh. Link to comment
Bud Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 A friend of mine had a stroke and had to learn to spell again. He told me that spelling was a memory problem... we remember what a word looks like. Makes sense to me when I spell something and realize it just does not look right. Then spell check creates a different word. Sometime auto-correct makes for some interesting sentences. I have to force myself to slow down and see what it thinks I wanted to say (and sometimes have to have a conversation with my phone ) Link to comment
beemerman2k Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Yeah, yeah, yeah, but I challenge them to use the phrase "S'up dogg, brothas' be gettin' hyphe" in the correct context. Sheesh. Wait, an Ebonics spelling bee?! Link to comment
Mister Tee Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Beemerman, I say throw "Twerking" at those little girls and watch the sheer terror on their faces as they choose between deliberately misspelling it or being disowned by their families! Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Of course. Antidisestablishmentarianism is often thought to be the longest word in the English language and very difficult to correctly spell. Difficult, sure, but my vote for most difficult is floccinaucinihilipilification. Link to comment
Bud Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 Of course. Antidisestablishmentarianism is often thought to be the longest word in the English language and very difficult to correctly spell. Difficult, sure, but my vote for most difficult is floccinaucinihilipilification. That is a worthless word if there ever was one. Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Of course. Antidisestablishmentarianism is often thought to be the longest word in the English language and very difficult to correctly spell. Difficult, sure, but my vote for most difficult is floccinaucinihilipilification. That is a worthless word if there ever was one. Well played, sir. Link to comment
tallman Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Of course. Antidisestablishmentarianism is often thought to be the longest word in the English language and very difficult to correctly spell. Difficult, sure, but my vote for most difficult is floccinaucinihilipilification. That is a worthless word if there ever was one. Well played, sir. Eleven years ago, before it popped up on ESPN, I used this word as a challenge on a middle school spelling test. Thirty students, 26 of whom were very low performing on standardized tests. 27 of the 30 spelled it correctly on the Friday test and the other 3 the following week. Spelling it aloud leads to a pattern of letters which is somewhat easy to recall, IMO. It is a challenge most definitely. I was extremely proud of this group and how they worked together to master it by helping one another practice. After this, any other words seemed less difficult. The next year they placed third in the state in 8th grade writing test... Link to comment
upflying Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Spell this kids name, spelling bee over. Link to comment
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