2007 National Spelling Bee: Round 5 (II)

I am just about ready to turn to the words themselves. One further introductory comment is relevant. A friend called me this morning, and his first comment was: "Bill, did you see that almost all the people left in the Bee are not Anglos?" This is no surprise to me, as it has been happening for more than a decade. Spelling Bees are the new Ellis Island for many groups who are trying to become high-achieving Americans in a single bound (one generation). Bees are both the ticket and sign of having "made it" or having "arrived" in America. The Indian-American community, for example, has spelling bees throughout the year to prepare their members for this national stage. More power to them. But it brings up the interesting phenomenon that Anglos may soon be as good in spelling their native language as Caucasian American basketball players are in playing in the NBA. Maybe there is the lack of a "precision gene" in Caucasian Americans; perhaps we are so taken by glitz and celebrity and "image" that we have given up the quest for precise knowledge. I don't think that is really the case, but a spelling bee like this can tend to make one ask questions. Now, to the words from Round 5.

Round 5

We were told that 286 spellers competed. Only 59 made it to Round 5, and then only 33 made it to Round 6. A point about precision is almost too trivial to mention--one of the "sportscasters" (for this round was on ESPN) said that we lost "25 spellers" in Round 5. Actually, it is 26. My point exactly. Well, this was one of those rounds where they tried to (and succeeded) in mowing down most of the remaining spellers. Some rounds are like that. I tuned in on the word beccafico, a small songbird or warbler of various genera, which the speller got right. The reason the bird is called bettafico (the last part of the word is the Italian for "fig" and the first means "to peck") is that the bird is "much esteemed as dainties in the autumn [in Italy], when they have fattened on figs and grapes." Ah, a story, a picture and a word. How could knowledge get any better than that?

The wods continued. Reblochon, which was misspelled, was next. It is a soft French cheese made chiefly in Savoy. It illustrates one of Long's earlier principles, that every word missed by a speller is a simple word someplace in the word. Listen to the origin of this word--a stupendously interesting word picture.

"Originating in the Aravis Massif of Savoy, reblochon was born in the 13th century in the Thônes valley. Farmers, forced to continually pay the landowner of the alpine pasture a rate representing a percentage of the milk they produced, decided one day to only partially milk their cows in order to lower their rental payments. Once the landowner had left, the farmers carried out a second milking from which they obtained milk very high in fat. The name “reblochon” comes from the verb “re-blocher,” meaning to squeeze the cow’s udder a second time. The cheese is best in the summer and fall."

If we just stopped at these two words, we would have enough to study for quite some time. It would plunge us into Italy and France, into various genera of birds and types of cheeses, into the social history of France, and into the lives of people. Words open worlds, and these two words do so wonderfully. Let's continue.

Other Round 5 Words

The erudite and impeccable pronouncer, Dr. Jacques Bailly, continued. Strigil, azotea and onychomycosis were correctly spelled. Once you see a picture of a strigil, you never forget it; once you take Spanish, you never can forget azotea; once you misspell onychophoran (which I did in the National Senior Bee last year), you never will miss another "onycho"-word. Then we had words that tripped up spellers. Kate Weir, the New Zealand champion, misspelled jardiniere, but her letter pronunciation confounded the judges for about five minutes, as they were trying to figure out whether she said "g" or "j." Great fun, and even some suspense. Cenacle, misspelled, was next, followed by terpsichore, also misspelled. Terpsichorean has been a word in the Senior Bee in the last two years. I misspelled it once and got it right once. You guess which one came first!

The most suprised speller in the house after negus was spelled correctly was the speller, Andrew Lay of North Carolina. Josiah Wright tripped up on ptilopod, which I also missed, but which is easy if you know your feathers. Actually, the OED doesn't have the word. Nor does the Century, though the later has ptilopedic. If you (or I) knew the "group" Ptilopaedes, well, the word would have been simple.

I was impressed when Marissa Shoji correctly spelled butyraldehyde, which I also got right, because there are a few places where one could get tripped up in the word. Stramineous tripped up Scott Remer of Cleveland, and retiarius also brought down a speller. The latter is difficult because the "t" is pronounced "ch." "Rechiarius" was how it is pronounced. If you knew that the root rete, from Latin, means "net, "and realized that a retiarius is a gladiator from Roman times with net, well, you would have it.

Concluding Round 5

Chorydera (a catfish) and hussar, both misspelled, then followed. Dysbarism and umami were then correctly spelled. Siphonogamous tripped up a speller, but the next speller, Amy Chyao (the surnames are more difficult to spell than the spelling words!), correctly spelled drepanocytosis. She knew her Greek roots very well. Biwa was correctly spelled, but then Samir Patel fell on clevis, a word that he knew and which misspelling he called a "stupid mistake." I felt for him very much because this was his last time to "win" the Bee, and because he had finished second and third in previous years. Someday he will enter the Senior Bee and win it, I think (if we still have it 35 years from now). The round then concluded with scherzando, Menckenese (I was impressed that Raymond Soriano spelled this word correctly, because you have to know some American history to understand it), suimate, araneiform (misspelled), ciguatera, and lekvar.

One personal "secret" as I conclude this essay. The speller I am really pulling for is Isabel Jacobson of Madison, WI. She is coached by Jeff Kirsch, who beat me at the 2004 Senior Bee (I placed second). Jeff and I keep up with each other, and I know his excitement at being able to coach her. She got 14th last year, I think. The Round Six results are just in. She spelled her difficult word, cannetille, correctly. At the end of the sixth round there are only 15 spellers left, and she is one of them. I look forward to rooting her (and Jeff) on tonight in the final rounds!

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