 You've worked for this for a very long time--you deserve to have your moment onstage. (UPI/Pete Marovich) To 2020 Eighth Grade Spellers--
First of all, I want to say that I’m sorry. You’ve put years of your life into this. You’ve poured every bit of you that you possibly can into early mornings and late nights learning about words. You’ve sacrificed social events and other extracurricular activities for this. There aren’t any good words (ironically enough) to describe how much you’ve truly put into this. You’ve done all of that in the hopes of having your moment on the stage, whether your goal was to win, make the finals, or even just make it to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. And now you’re not sure whether you’ll have that chance, whether it might all be for nothing. If I had been in your position in eighth grade, I know that I would have been deeply devastated, so while Scripps made a decision in the best interest of everyone’s health, I am sorry that you have to go through this. For those of you who were returning competitors for the second, third, fourth, even fifth time, I know this is exceptionally difficult. At the risk of sounding a little too cliché, there’s a piece of my heart in National Harbor that’s been there since my very first Bee Week in 2015. You’re there to be onstage, and that’s wonderful. There’s something so special about being at the microphone on that hexagon at the front of the stage under the lights with a dozen cameras clicking in front of you. It’s adrenaline-pumping, it’s ethereal, and it reminds you why you love what you do. There’s something irreplaceable about demonstrating your talent that you’ve spent thousands of hours of your life developing. And that’s why you’re there. But Bee Week is about so much more than just the competition. It’s meeting kids from all around the world who share your passion. It’s the giant hug circle as “We Are The Champions” plays at the very end of the farewell party. It’s mock bees in the hotel lobby at all hours. It’s getting accidentally kicked by your best friend poorly executing a cartwheel in an empty convention center at 2 in the morning (totally not speaking from experience on that one). And it’s so much more, too. There’s a sense of community, of joy, of inclusivity at Bee Week that I’ve never found anywhere else. For many returning eighth graders, I know this was supposed to be the highlight of your year, the week when you can do all of this one last time. But now it’s uncertain if you’ll have a bee at all, and even if you do, there’s no knowing how the format of the week might change to accommodate the nature of the situation. If this was supposed to be your first time at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, I feel for you as well--Bee Week has the power to be profoundly life-changing. I am the person I am today because of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and every bit of me is hoping that you get to have this experience in your last year of eligibility. There’s no positive way to spin this. It sucks. The best you can do at this point is hope that Scripps will reschedule and keep studying with that hope in mind. Even if the worst case scenario turns out to be reality and there’s no bee at all, I sincerely believe that this won’t all have been for nothing. I know it’s easy for me to say because I’m not in your position, but it isn’t always about the competition in the end anyway. Four years removed from my last spelling bee, I’m of course thankful that I had the opportunity to compete. But even more than that, I’m thankful for the people I love that I met through spelling. I’m thankful that I got to discover, letter by letter, the wonder that is language. I’m thankful that I learned to work hard and learn to take both success and failure gracefully. At the end of the day, you’ve done all of those things too, whether the national bee happens in 2020 or not. Words, passion, learning, and friendship can’t be cancelled. So keep studying if you can, stay healthy, and take pride in everything you’ve accomplished thus far. With love for the spelling community that made me who I am, Sylvie
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 Mondegreen.
The first time I listened to Lorde’s song “Supercut” in 2017, I was convinced that the line “into continents and cars” was actually “it’s in confidence and carbs.” I was wrong, of course, but it’s so easy to mishear words when they are sung so stylistically differently than the everyday speech in which we are used to hearing them. The word mondegreen, defined by Merriam-Webster as “a word or phrase that results from a mishearing of something said or sung,” actually refers to this specifically. The best part of this word is that the word for a mondegreen comes from a mondegreen itself. The Scottish ballad “The Bonnie Earl O’ Moray” begins with the following stanza: Ye heilands and ye lowlands, O whaur hae ye been? They hae slain the Earl o' Murray, And laid him on the green; However, people often heard “laid him on the green” as “Lady Mondegreen,” which led to the coinage of the word “mondegreen.” Mondegreen is also an example of something called an autological word--it’s a word for something with a quality that the word itself also possesses. “Mondegreen” is, in itself, a mondegreen. Other autological words include:
 The first widely known use of "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" was in the 1964 film Mary Poppins. “Oh, you’re good at spelling, right? Spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
I can, in fact spell it, but the Scripps National Spelling Bee can’t ask me to do so. But why? Isn’t that a word? Everyone knows the word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. That’s where dictionary entry word criteria comes in. A great place to hear about this from someone who’s more of an expert than me is this video by Kory Stamper, former editor at Merriam-Webster, absolute lexicographic legend, and one of my favorite word nerds. Back in my baby speller era, around fifth grade when I was learning Spell It!, I loved watching her Ask The Editor videos on the Merriam-Webster website, and I’d often do that instead of studying. Also, check out her book Word By Word if you want to know even more about how dictionaries are made--it’s a fascinating inside look at the world of lexicographers. Back to dictionary criteria, though. There are three important standards that a word has to meet in order to be entered in the dictionary:
 2017 Scripps runner up Rohan Rajeev missed the word "marram," a word for a type of grass, which, despite its short length, is now widely agreed upon as having been one of the hardest words used by Scripps. In May 2019, I was waiting in line for the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee when a reporter approached me. He wanted to talk with me about the students I had coached and about the spelling bee in general. At one point in our conversation, he wondered aloud why some rounds had shorter words mixed in with longer ones. It seemed unfair to him because he assumed the longer ones would be harder. Of course, he was right that the word list was not perfectly even in terms of difficulty, but word length had nothing to do with it.
If you’ve watched the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals, I’m sure you’ve noticed the prevalence of long German words (among others) in the late finals--sprachgefühl and scherenschnitte and what have you. Obviously, it’d be wrong to label these words as downright easy, but at the same time, harder words exist. It’s long been a theory in the spelling bee community that the word panel chooses words more for how hard they’ll look on television as opposed to how difficult they’ll actually be for spellers. While these two categories do have some overlap, they’re not always the same thing. Long German words, for example, can sometimes be difficult, but for many spellers, they tend to be on the easier side in terms of words that will be used in the national finals. Why is that? Language patterns. Most spellers have dedicated a significant portion of their study time to gaining a deep understanding of how specific languages of origin work, how certain sounds will be spelled in words from those languages, etc. Spellers know that German words are especially common at the national bee, so knowledge of German is highly prioritized. Thus, many spellers will know words like gesellschaft and auslaut (both winning words in the past three years!) off the tops of their heads. So if the German words are often on the easier side for spellers, what are some examples of words that are actually hard? Polish cities, anyone? (Actually, a lot of spellers are familiar with Polish cities because they’re a running joke in the spelling community as being the types of words Scripps should use in place of the German words. But if that wasn’t the case, then yes, they’d be really difficult.) Let’s take a look at marram, the word that tripped up the otherwise infallible 2017 Scripps runner-up Rohan Rajeev. It’s a noun meaning a type of grass, and it’s of Scandinavian origin. Its sole pronunciation is \’marəm\. That’s all the information you get on that word. Unlike sprachgefühl, which actually follows some pretty consistent German patterns throughout the word, there’s not a lot of information to inform your spelling of marram if you don’t have it memorized. Scandinavian is a pretty generic answer to the language of origin question--it’s not even a language; rather, it refers to several languages spoken in a region of Northern Europe. You can’t follow patterns with marram anywhere near as easily as you can with sprachgefühl. It becomes clear pretty quickly that sometimes, the short words that aren’t from German can be a lot more difficult than the long German words, even though it might seem counterintuitive. Don’t even get me started on trademarks or imitative words or, God forbid, words of unknown origin.  Me competing in the finals of my very first state bee in 2013 (brought to you by Spell It!) (Anya Semenoff/The Denver Post) The Spell It! regional bee list, which has been in use for over a decade, was recently discontinued and replaced by Words of the Champions, a 4,000-word study guide that will now be used in regional bees and, though it remains to be seen for sure, perhaps the national bee. As someone whose early experiences in the bee were very much defined and shaped by the Spell It! list, I’m writing this (albeit sappy) post as a farewell to the list that opened the door to the bee world for me.
To Spell It!-- When my brother and I first printed you out to study for our very first state bee, we were 12 and 10 years old respectively. We really had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, just that we had qualified for the state bee and that we wanted to do decently well. As we spent hours poring over your pages, we discovered so much--the seemingly impossible complexities of German that turned out to be more consistent than they appeared, the way Greek and Latin roots click together to construct meanings, the gorgeous absurdities of French. Of course, neither of us won the state bee that year, but you laid the foundation for what was next. Spell It! unlocked a love that I didn’t know I had for words and language and learning. From then on, every word I learned was a treasure, an exquisite story to explore. Once I started with Spell It!, I never stopped. Words took me around the world both figuratively and literally--spelling bees would take me to stages as far from home as DC and Beijing. And of course it’s easy to credit all the more advanced and complex words and lists and concepts for getting me that far, but ultimately, Spell It!, it all started with you. It started with spelling-based basketball games in my driveway with my brother. One shot for every word. (Spell It!, of course, was our source.) It started with the wonder that ignited within me the first time I saw the word Weissnichtwo in the German challenge words. It started with Googling pictures of all the Spell It! Dog words, from schipperke to borzoi. It started with hours spent in the car with my dad outside my elementary school on early mornings, going over Spell It! over and over again. So, Spell It!, in many ways, you were just the beginning. But I really wouldn’t call you "just" anything. You served as the gateway to something that was ultimately life-transforming, and for that I am grateful. Love, a lifelong Spell It! kid  The 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee Octochamps! The Scripps National Spelling Bee came to a close Thursday night in National Harbor, Maryland. The champion? Rishik Gandhasri from California. Oh, I forgot to mention Rohan Raja, Sohum Sukhatankar, and Abhijay Kodali (all from Texas). But that’s only half--Erin Howard from Alabama, Christopher Serrao and Shruthika Padhy from New Jersey, and Saketh Sundar from Maryland? All champions as well!
In the 17th round of the bee, shortly before midnight, Dr. Bailly had an announcement to make. “We are now entering uncharted territory,” he said, before going on to announce that after three more rounds, the Bee would be out of challenging words and that anyone who could make it through the next three rounds would be declared a co-champion. Naturally, all eight remaining spellers made it through and won. They dubbed themselves “octochamps.” The atmosphere in the ballroom was so full of excitement--the audience of over 1000 was breathlessly euphoric as not one, not two, but EIGHT champions were crowned. The Scripps rules provide for up to three co-champions, so eight seems unthinkable, and yet, this octet of talented spellers managed to make it happen. Scripps had no other choice. Everyone knew that they were witnessing history in the making. It was a wonderful surprise to see eight kids win the bee this year, but what does this mean for the future? Many agree that Scripps could have used harder words. With the advent of SpellPundit, which includes just about every word someone might need to know for a spelling bee, some believe that the bee might be permanently broken--the argument here is that too many kids know every possible word, and nothing can be done to “fix” the bee. While I do believe that the word list could have been improved, I do not think the bee is “dead” or irretrievable in any way. Each year, Scripps changes the rules based on what they think is best based on previous bees, and this year’s bee will just be another event to consider. Will we see some serious rule changes? Probably. Is the bee gone forever? Absolutely not. So what can be done? Some have suggested shortening the time limit or not allowing spellers to ask for information. That, however, seems to take away what is at the core of the bee--celebration of deep understanding of words and etymology and language. The words, though, could have been more difficult. While Scripps threw some incredibly difficult words at the spellers and they each absolutely deserved their championship, the dictionary has not been exhausted. Difficult as it is to believe, there are words hiding deep in the shadows of Merriam-Webster Unabridged that are even more esoteric, even more mind-boggling, and even more intimidating than the incredibly challenging words conquered by the Octochamps. The word difficulty also seemed to progress inconsistently, and it would probably be in Scripps’ best interest to standardize that, although I understand fully that it is easier said than done. In any case, each of the Octochamps worked unbelievably hard for what they have accomplished, and they deserve nothing but kudos for their efforts and achievements. I’d like to offer a hearty Octongratulations (sorry, it had to be done) to all eight of them!  Happy May! Summer is just around the corner, and the 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee is just eight days away (not that I'm counting). In just over a week, spellers from all around the country and all around the world will take the stage in National Harbor, Maryland to take on the dictionary and see the payoff of all their hard work. So, what do you need to know about this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee?
This year's Scripps National Spelling Bee is the largest ever. 567 spellers will take the stage in the preliminary rounds. That's 48 more than 2018's 519 spellers. This ongoing expansion is largely a result of the bee's RSVBee program, and it could very well make the bee even more competitive than ever. The tiebreaker test that finalists had to take in the previous two years is no longer a part of the competition. The tiebreaker test was a step taken by Scripps to decrease the likelihood of co-champions. While the scores never actually had to be used in the two years where it was administered, the removal of the test means a reversion to the pre-2017 rules, where co-champions could be declared without attempting to break the tie with a test score. The preliminaries test is taking place on Monday instead of Tuesday. Presumably since the bee has more spellers than ever, Scripps is taking this step to make more time for Round 2 on Tuesday--especially since Round 3 will kick off on Tuesday evening after Round 2 before concluding on Wednesday. A few more bits of advice specifically for spellers: Breathe. I know this particular piece of advice is given over and over, and I know that it probably seems trite at this point. However, it truly is important to breathe consciously throughout the competition. When I was competing, I felt extremely stressed at times, even to the point where I was hyperventilating. It's so important to try to control that as much as you can, as difficult as it might be. Additionally, set aside a few minutes for yourself each day of Bee Week to just focus on breathing deeply and clearing your head. It can really make a world of difference. Sleep. Another trite piece of advice, but something I often failed to do when I was a speller! It might seem tempting to stay up all night cramming words for the competition, but cramming late at night will not help you. You won't retain very much of what you're trying to learn, and you'll be exhausted the next day, when you need to be at your best. Give yourself permission to go to bed and get some rest. I promise you'll be better off because of it. However, of course, you should study some while you're at the bee. Make sure you have lists of your most difficult words with you so that you can review them. Both of the years that I competed at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, words that I reviewed during Bee Week ended up being used in the bee. Don't overdo it, but make sure you're doing what you need to do in your free time. Go to Bee events. You don't have to go to all of them if you don't want to, but three years later, the most important part of my participation in the spelling bee has been the memories I got to make and the friends I got to meet through the spelling bee--in fact, some of those people are still my best friends today. Going to Bee Week events (especially the Farewell Party--it really is worth staying up late), as well as exchanging Beekeepers (spelling bee autograph books), is the best way to meet people and really have an unforgettable experience. The most important piece of advice I have for you, however, is to relish the experience and don't worry too much about your placement. The experience of Bee Week is just as important as the competition itself. You've done so much hard work, and now all you can ask of yourself is that you try your best. Your hard work will likely pay off very well, but even if you don't meet your own expectations, it doesn't mean you failed--luck is a huge factor in spelling bees. Memories of the bee and lessons learned will last so much longer than any placement or prize that you could receive. So spellers, this is your moment. Everything you've done to prepare for this will be worth it. Get on that stage and dazzle the world with your talent. You are prepared, you are passionate, and you are unstoppable. May the odds BEE ever in your favor!  While chrysanthemums can have a variety of colors, they were named for the yellow in which they are often found. Do you know what purpuroxanthin means? If you've read the title, you probably know it has something to do with colors--namely the complementary colors purple and yellow. Purpuroxanthin is a reddish yellow crystalline compound obtained from the reduction of purpurin, which is another chemical compound. Xanthos is the Greek word for yellow, which has a clear connection to the word--a reddish yellow crystalline compound. The connection to purpura, the Latin word for purple, however, is a bit more vague. Purpurin itself is not a purple compound--according to Merriam-Webster, it's actually orange or red. It's somewhat unclear as to why purpurin was named for the color purple, but it was, and purpura came to be a significant part of purpuroxanthin.
This post, of course, wouldn't be complete without mentioning a second important root used for the color yellow. The Greek word chrysos is technically the word for gold, but it is often used for the color yellow as well. Picture, for example, a chrysanthemum--although they're not always yellow, they frequently are, and they were named for this characteristic. Most frequently, though, it is used to mean gold, which is reflected in the word "chrysalis"--chrysalides were originally named for the chrysalis of the common crow butterfly, which is known for its brilliant gold-colored chrysalis. Let me know what colors and roots you'd like to see me discuss next!  Rubies, gemstones known for their rich red color, get their name from the Latin word "rubeus," which means "red." Do you know what an erythrocyte is? What does it mean if something is rubefacient? What color is a rhodoplast? Hint: all the answers have to do with the color red.
This series of blog posts will focus on roots that are used for specific colors, one color at a time--starting with red today! Rubeus is the Latin word for red. The name for the gemstone ruby comes directly from this word. Additionally, we have English words like "rubious" (which, unsurprisingly, simply means "red") and "rubefacient," which means causing redness (especially of the skin). Fun fact for Harry Potter fans: Rubeus Hagrid's name was intentionally selected to connect to the color red. (More on this in a future post.) The next root has both Latin and Greek origins. Rhod-, which initially comes from the Greek rhodon meaning rose but also passed through Latin on its way to English, is a common root that also means "red." Rhodochrosite? That's a mineral known for its rose red color. Rhodoplast, is, of course, also red--it's a red chromatophore found in red algae. The Greek combining form erythr- is a final root that also means "red." It's used especially in scientific and medical contexts--an erythrocyte is a red blood cell. Erythrodermia is unusual excessive redness of skin. There are other examples, too, though: my personal favorite is the word "erythrophobia" which can be the fear of blushing or of the color red itself. What's your favorite color? Find a root for it, or look for a cool word that describes a certain shade of that color--there are a lot out there!  Practice "mock bees" are an important part of my coaching; it helps students to put into practice the skills that they're developing both inside and outside of sessions. Often, when I’m talking to someone outside of the spelling bee community and I tell them that I’m a spelling coach, their first question is often the same: “How do you even teach someone to be a good speller?”
It’s a good question, and it’s one that I’m sure I’d have if I was less involved with spelling. It often seems like being good at spelling is a simple process of rote memorization--how could you possibly “coach” someone to become a great speller? Language patterns. Spelling, despite what some people think, isn’t all memorization. A huge part of being successful in spelling bees is a solid understanding of how words coming from different languages are spelled. Some common examples of this are the tendency of Spanish words to spell the \h\ sound with the letter J, or of German words to spell the \sh\ sound as “sch.” One of the most common things I do as a coach is provide structured pattern lessons for every language of origin that comes up in the Bee. A strong foundation in patterns is an important precedent for developing a more intuitive feel for a language, and that’s a key part of what I help with. Roots. Like language patterns, roots are essential to being able to put together words. Especially when a word is Latin or Greek, it’s easy to put together even words you haven’t seen before if you have a solid foundation of root knowledge. That's what I do with my students--I help them learn roots so that we can work on putting together words based on the definition. I have several methods of teaching and learning roots that I use with my students to help build that fundamental knowledge base that enables a speller to put together thousands and thousands of words. Mock bees. To put these skills with roots and language patterns into practice, I often hold mock spelling bees with my students. I have them stand up as if they were onstage if the meeting is in person, but if the session is over Skype, I still try to make it as realistic as possible. I put them on a two-minute timer (the official Scripps time limit) and have them ask all the questions, just as if they were onstage. I also use a bell when I can. I intentionally select words that can be put together using roots and language patterns so that students can practice using the skills they’re developing in those areas. Study strategy. Even though roots and language patterns and other areas of knowledge are tremendously important to being a good speller, there is a lot of memorization in the end. I help with this too--I help students make their individualized study plan that utilizes various tools to help them learn the words that they need to learn. Of course, I can’t do all the work--part of being a successful coach is having dedicated students who put in the hard work. Teaching what needs to be taught is the first part, but it’s really the student that puts in the work and makes it happen. I get to see my students do that every day, and I love watching them grow and succeed! |