Thanks to the ever-growing media, the 2009 edition of US National spelling Competition was available for viewing in India through ESPN.
It is awesome to look at the level of vocabulary of the kids. The winner, Kavya Shivashankaran said in an interview that she was already familiar with the word “Laodicean” by spelling which she won the Competion.
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The contestants are allowed to ask for five possible questions:
1. Language of Origin
2. Alternate Pronunciations
3. Definition or Meaning
4. Use of the word in a Sentence
5. Part of Speech
Language of Origin:
This has to be looked at by the Tamil Growers and those who claim impurity and non-patronage of the Tamil Language due to contamination by mix and use of other linguistics.
However, they would accept that English is renowned all over the world and the most used language in the world.
How and Why??
Most words in English have not originated from English. It has words drawn from Greek, French, Latin, German, Welch, Arabic, and Sanskrit to name a few.
In the competition this appeared to be the most important clue because for words not familiar to the contestant, Language of Origin would most time suggest the spelling based on the pronounciation. For instance, if there is a “sh” pronunciation, and French Origin might easily lead to a spelling of “che”.
Panache (p -n sh , -näsh ) is a word of French origin that carries the connotation of a flamboyant manner and reckless courage.
The literal meaning of the word is a plume, such as is worn on a hat or a helmet, but the reference is to King Henri IV of France. Pleasure-loving and cynical, but a brave military leader and the best-loved of the kings of France, he was famed for wearing a striking white plume in his helmet and for his war cry: "Follow my white plume!" (Fr. "Ralliez-vous à mon panache blanc").
Definition or Use in Sentence:
This portion would be useful for words that are distantly familiar. The meaning and the context of the word by using it in the sentence generally helps one remember the traces of where we got familiarity with the word
Part of Speech:
This is very important in finding the spelling but can also mislead sometimes.
English frequently does not mark words as belonging to one part of speech or another. Words like neigh, break, outlaw, laser, microwave and telephone might all be either verb forms or nouns. Although -ly is an adverb marker, not all adverbs end in -ly and not all words ending in -ly are adverbs. For instance, tomorrow, fast, crosswise can all be adverbs, while early, friendly, ugly are all adjectives (though early can also function as an adverb).
In certain circumstances, even words with primarily grammatical functions can be used as verbs or nouns, as in "We must look to the hows and not just the whys"
__________________________________________________________
Well, Language is an Ocean and it keeps growing
Language, after all is only a medium of communication and as long as you make the person on the other side understand what you want to communicate, there is nothing more in any language.
However, if you are on the receiving end you do not expect the communicator to be very strong and the onus of understanding what he communicates lies with you.
Now is the time, get ready and start learning more and more and more….
It is awesome to look at the level of vocabulary of the kids. The winner, Kavya Shivashankaran said in an interview that she was already familiar with the word “Laodicean” by spelling which she won the Competion.
_______________________________________________________
The contestants are allowed to ask for five possible questions:
1. Language of Origin
2. Alternate Pronunciations
3. Definition or Meaning
4. Use of the word in a Sentence
5. Part of Speech
Language of Origin:
This has to be looked at by the Tamil Growers and those who claim impurity and non-patronage of the Tamil Language due to contamination by mix and use of other linguistics.
However, they would accept that English is renowned all over the world and the most used language in the world.
How and Why??
Most words in English have not originated from English. It has words drawn from Greek, French, Latin, German, Welch, Arabic, and Sanskrit to name a few.
In the competition this appeared to be the most important clue because for words not familiar to the contestant, Language of Origin would most time suggest the spelling based on the pronounciation. For instance, if there is a “sh” pronunciation, and French Origin might easily lead to a spelling of “che”.
Panache (p -n sh , -näsh ) is a word of French origin that carries the connotation of a flamboyant manner and reckless courage.
The literal meaning of the word is a plume, such as is worn on a hat or a helmet, but the reference is to King Henri IV of France. Pleasure-loving and cynical, but a brave military leader and the best-loved of the kings of France, he was famed for wearing a striking white plume in his helmet and for his war cry: "Follow my white plume!" (Fr. "Ralliez-vous à mon panache blanc").
Definition or Use in Sentence:
This portion would be useful for words that are distantly familiar. The meaning and the context of the word by using it in the sentence generally helps one remember the traces of where we got familiarity with the word
Part of Speech:
This is very important in finding the spelling but can also mislead sometimes.
English frequently does not mark words as belonging to one part of speech or another. Words like neigh, break, outlaw, laser, microwave and telephone might all be either verb forms or nouns. Although -ly is an adverb marker, not all adverbs end in -ly and not all words ending in -ly are adverbs. For instance, tomorrow, fast, crosswise can all be adverbs, while early, friendly, ugly are all adjectives (though early can also function as an adverb).
In certain circumstances, even words with primarily grammatical functions can be used as verbs or nouns, as in "We must look to the hows and not just the whys"
__________________________________________________________
Well, Language is an Ocean and it keeps growing
Language, after all is only a medium of communication and as long as you make the person on the other side understand what you want to communicate, there is nothing more in any language.
However, if you are on the receiving end you do not expect the communicator to be very strong and the onus of understanding what he communicates lies with you.
Now is the time, get ready and start learning more and more and more….
