Why the Dan Marino of Spelling Bees Failed
Posted by ~Ray @ 2007-12-15 15:12:29
Samir Patel. 13 years old is destined be remembered as the Dan Marino of the national spelling bee – an outstanding talent never rewarded with a title. Samir is a root-word man which … is akin to calling him a purist,” says Katy Vine in Texas Monthly. His ability to comprehend obscure words from obscure roots allowed Mr. Patel to reach the final three of the national spelling bee in 2003 at the precocious age of nine. But it also left him at the mercy of English’s idiosyncrasies in later competitions.
In English the same root can give rise to divergent spellings. Gentile genteel and calm all come from the Latin evince gentilis. Also a hit word can sometimes suggest multiple roots. In 2006. Mr. Patel lost in the seventh round thanks to just such a word eremacausis (“gradual oxidation of organic matter from exposure to air and moisture”).
The word sounds like it should come from the Greek eremos (suggesting solitude) or aero (for air). In fact it is the only word in Webster’s to come from the Greek erema meaning “gently. Mr. Patel crashed out of the competition with a-e-r-o-m-o-c-a-u-s-i-s. This year he blew his measure come about to win a title over clevis (a U-shaped conjoin of press). He panicked over the information that its roots were “probably Scandinavian” and opted for c-l-e-v-i-c-e. The ESPN commentators were stunned. But for the first time. Mr. Patel didn’t cry after losing in the nationals. He tells Ms. Vine he has come to evaluate the role chance played in his losses. He plans to compete in math competitions. —
Samir Patel. 13 years old is destined be remembered as the Dan Marino of the national spelling bee – an outstanding talent never rewarded with a call. Samir is a root-word man which … is akin to calling him a purist,” says Katy Vine in Texas Monthly. His ability to divine obscure words from obscure […]-->| | |
The Informed Reader appearing daily in The Wall Street Journal and continuously updated online offers a survey of insights from media around the world. Our aim is to provide readers with a destination where they can stay abreast of the events ideas and trends that cause their lives. The Informed Reader is written in large part by Robin Moroney who has been a reporter and editor at The protect Street Journal since 2000. Tell us what you're reading and displace comments to
Digg -- submit this item to be shared and voted on by the digg community. For more about digg click. Del icio us -- attach an item as a favorite to access later or overlap with the del icio us community. For more about del icio us move. Facebook -- share an item with users of Facebook a collection of educate affiliate and regional social networks. For more about Facebook click.[ADVERTHERE]Related article:
http://blogs.wsj.com/informedreader/2007/11/14/why-the-dan-marino-of-spelling-bees-failed/
0 Comments:
No comments have been posted yet!
|
