Some Tips for the First-Time Pronouncer, Part One

Jacques Bailly, official pronouncer of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, is absolutely essential to a smoothly run bee. Just like him, as the pronouncer of your local bee, you make a huge difference, whether for better or for worse, in the overall quality of the bee. (Sean Dougherty / USA TODAY)

This, as many things are, is best introduced with a story.
    For my sixth-grade area bee, where the top two spellers were sent to the regional bee, I learned every word on the School Spelling Bee Study List, as I knew that it contained the words that were going to be used for much of the bee. I knew every word on that list backward and forwards, and could drill through all 450 words with my dad in a matter of minutes. The bee did, in fact, use those words, but despite my mastery of the list, it was a word from that list that almost brought my demise. The word verdure was my word in a round where there were three spellers left, but instead of the correct \vərjər\ pronunciation, I was given the pronunciation  \ver-¦zher\--as if the word was bergere, except it began with the letter V. I didn’t connect this at all with verdure because the pronunciation was so different from the one listed in Merriam-Webster that I had learned. The closest word I could think of that was on the study list was bourgeois. Needless to say, I was wrong. I would have been eliminated if I had not appealed on the grounds of mispronunciation, and although I was reinstated, it would have saved me (and several others in the same bee who found themselves in similar situations) a lot of trouble and stress.     
    Almost five years later, I’ve pronounced for a dozen or so local bees, and since I have experience both as a speller and as a pronouncer, I wanted to offer some of my advice to those who are going to be pronouncing a school or local bee for the first time this season. A competent pronouncer is the most important part of any bee--the bee simply cannot be well-run without one.
    Let’s start with the pronouncer’s role, as outlined by the Scripps National Spelling Bee itself: The pronouncer strives to pronounce words according to the diacritical markings in Scripps National Spelling Bee word lists. This is your primary duty, and it is absolutely essential to the smooth running of the bee. However, it might be harder than it looks. It’s definitely not a good idea to go into the bee without having prepared yourself for pronouncing words correctly ahead of time. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Don’t assume that you know how to pronounce all of the words. While some of the words used in local bees are fairly common, not all of them are. Furthermore, even if it’s a word you’ve seen before, the way you would typically pronounce it might be different from the diacritics listed in the Scripps-provided word list (which should match the diacritics in Merriam-Webster). Even if you use a word every single day, don’t assume that your pronunciation is the correct pronunciation to give the speller--they might have learned a different pronunciation. Problems with this are avoided by simply following the diacritics given to you in the list, and not pronouncing it another way just because it seems “more correct” to you.
2. Learn how to read diacritics. The diacritics in the Scripps lists follow the same system used by Merriam-Webster. The symbols aren’t necessarily intuitive--it’s important to study and understand them ahead of time so that you can pronounce words correctly according to the diacritics you are given. There’s a useful pronunciation guide from Merriam-Webster that you can use to make learning diacritics a lot easier.
3. Practice ahead of time. Once you know how to read diacritics, practice. Make sure that you can access the pronouncer’s guide ahead of time, and once you have it, review every word in the packet. Say the words out loud according to their diacritics, and make sure you understand the pronunciations of all of the words. It will make you much more efficient the day of the bee--you won’t have to take the time while a student is waiting for their word to figure out what the diacritics are saying.

If you do all of these things, you should be sufficiently prepared to be an effective pronouncer the day of the bee. A second part of this post is coming soon, addressing how to handle being a pronouncer once you’re actually at the bee. Happy pronouncing!

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