![]() The contestant must give the spelling of the word as defined, not a homophone of the word. If a word taken from the manual is unclear to a contestant, he or she may ask for the word to be re-pronounced, but will not be given a definition or a sentence, unless the word is a homophone in which case the Pronouncer must give the definition and an example sentence without being asked. Apostrophes and other punctuation are not required. ![]() Spellers are required to indicate capitals. Once a contestant has begun to spell a word, he or she may not ask for a word to be re-pronounced, defined or used in a sentence.Īlso, having started to spell a word, a contestant will not be given an opportunity to change letters already pronounced.Ī speller may retrace provided that letters and their sequence are not changed in retracing. For example Ottawa the speller must say “Capital O t-t-a-w-a”. Their decisions will be final in all matters.Ĭontestants may pronounce their words before spelling them, after spelling them, or not at all.įor all words with capitals, the seller must indicate the capital. Any questions or protests about the spelling(s) of a word or the running of the contests must be referred to the officials immediately (before the beginning of the next round). The Pronouncer, judge(s), and other officials will be in complete charge of the contest. An official will read rules 1 to 15 aloud before the beginning of each contest and, when the number of competitors has been reduced to two, he or she will read rules 16 to 17 unless those present agree unanimously to waive the reading of the rules.Ģ. Rules and Regulations of the Competitionġ. We, for once, are glad there are no spelling fights on TV these days. These books were part of the elementary school curriculum, so of course, students all over the country enjoyed getting into “spelling combats” for many years before the bee came along.Įvidently, “bee” is a much better choice, because it is short, easy to spell and remember and, most importantly, it has a positive meaning. What inspired these “matches” was Noah Webster’s (the founding father of Merriam-Webster) spelling books, first published in 1786. What is certain, though, spelling competitions had existed for quite some time before they became known as “spelling bees.”įor instance, spelling bees used to be connected to much more violent words, such as “spelling fight” and “spelling combat.” In print, the competition was addressed as a “spelling match” as early as in 1808. The official website suggests that the word “spelling bee” was officially created in 1875, but it had probably been used in the spoken language for some years before. The first time the word bee appeared in print was in 1769, and it was in the context of a “spinning bee.” Later on, expressions such as “husking bee,” “apple bee,” and “logging bee” began to be used. ![]() How the insect got its name most likely had nothing to do with them. This explains why bees were activities in which people helped a neighbour or friend in need. ![]() Instead, they suggested that the word bee derives from the Old English bene or boon which means “a prayer, a favor.” Yet, in recent years, linguists made a strong claim against this interesting theory. The English Linguistics Suggest Otherwise! ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |