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* I meant to post this a while ago and didn’t get around to it. Let’s circle back. WQAD…
The Scripps National Spelling Bee wrapped up on Thursday and announced its finalists, a 13-year-old from New York placed first, and a 13-year-old from Illinois placed second.
Taking first place in the 2013 bee was Arvind Mahankali from Bayside Hills, New York. This year was his fourth time in-a-row competing. In 2010 Mahankali placed ninth and in both 2011 and 2012 he got third place.
In second was Pranav Sivakumar, an 8th grade student from Tower Lakes, Illinois. Sivakumar has been in this competition three times, tying for 27th place in 2011 and for 22nd place in 2012. In school, he enjoys science and studying space. The middle school student won Best Research Paper and Best-in-Category project in astronomy in the junior division of the Illinois Junior Academy of Science..
I finished third in my county spelling bee when I was in fifth or sixth grade.
The word I misspelled was “assessor.” I spelled it “asessor.” Why? Because I was too embarrassed to spell A-S-S in front of a live audience and on live radio.
Yeah, how times have changed. I know.
My parents were both sticklers about spelling to the point where even today I get very upset at myself for misspelling a word here or in the Fax.
* The Question: How important has spelling been in your life?
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 1:54 pm
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Speling has always ben crooshal to my survieval in the profeshional werld.
Comment by Abe the Babe Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 1:59 pm
I think of myself as a good speller, but in second or third grade I blew a spelling bee on the very first word I got-”any”. My brain froze, I had no idea what my teacher was talking about (she didn’t use it in a sentence), so I finally guessed i-n-apostrophe-y.
Comment by steve schnorf Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:01 pm
Spelling was never a strong suit for me in school. Spell check is a wonderful invention; it keeps me from looking like a total dunce.
Comment by SirLankselot Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:07 pm
I consider myself to be a good speller but a marginal typist. Unfortunately I think many of us rely on spellcheck these days.
Comment by Stones Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:07 pm
Veri !
Comment by Bill Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:09 pm
I lerned good how to spel in skool at Nee Trear.
Seriously though, I’ve always prided myself on my spelling skills. Poor spelling is such a strong tell for sloppiness, especially in an era of spell-check. It’s an intense pet peeve.
Comment by Chicago Cynic Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:13 pm
I lost my school spelling bee on the word “misspelled”. True dat. I was very embareassed.
Comment by Langhorne Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:14 pm
@FakeJasonPlummer - Ok @Capitolfax, you have math problems, now you wanna know about my Spellering? What’s next, Jym Klass? #GoodAtSpelleringBadAtMath
To the Post,
Depending on what “mode” I am in, I can spell well, but if I am thinking differently, or in a phonetic spelling mindset for other things, my spelling here is not good, borderline terrible.
Apologies to all.
Do not get me started on grammar, correct usage, and slang use of grammar and spelling.
Yikes!
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:17 pm
Sometimes I think my lack of ability to spell may be the thing that ‘cost’ me the most in life…
Comment by OneMan Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:18 pm
I came up old school with the nuns getting physical for minor infractions, including spelling. So, spelling was very important from a physical health perspective. More importantly, spelling is an important mind trainer for young people. It develops memory. We all get sloppy on the keyboard, but, like it or not, misspelled words reflect poorly on the author.
I wonder about the background of the two mentioned students. Judging from their names, I’ll bet they are bilangual. Impressive.
Comment by Cook County Commoner Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:22 pm
On a scale of 1-10, spelling is a solid two.
– MrJM
Comment by MrJM Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:23 pm
I’ve struggled with spelling all my life, yet I have always done well academically and professionally. Thank goodness for spell check; I used to keep a dictionary on my desk at home and at work.
Comment by Wensicia Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:23 pm
very, although on blogs such as this, i get in too much of a hurry and do not use spell check. i am actually a very good speller and mrs. wizard (who is an exceptional speller) and i attribute our abilities to the phonics in school. in our un-scientific studies, 95%+ of the poor spellers we know did not have phonics. two of the poorest spellers i know are both engineers, on chemical and one civil, and both very smart.
Comment by wizard Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:23 pm
Everyone do yourself a favor and listen to the musical 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Seriously.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:24 pm
I lost on the word Sentry not Century.
Comment by Come on man! Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:24 pm
Poor spelling irritates me as well. That being said, in fifth grade, I went down in round one live on WGFA to “docter”. Embarrassing to say the least. The principal still bought us Monical’s on the way home. So overall, it was an up day.
Comment by ryan Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:25 pm
I tend to correct people when using good/well incorrectly.
Comment by Blank Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:25 pm
Very. Wish I had spent as much time in typing class.
Comment by Anyone Remember? Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:26 pm
I’m a good speller. The one that got me in the finals of my sixth grade spelling bee was “separate.” I spelled it “sepErate.” I then learned the mnemonic that separate has “a rat” in it.
Comment by Ray del Camino Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:26 pm
I think it’s even more important now with online records like facebook. Misspelling something and having it out there on the inter tubes can make one look foolish.
Comment by Boone's is Back Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:29 pm
Bad spellers of the world….. Untie
Comment by George Washington Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:30 pm
Looking at the majority of my comments here, it is clear that spelling isn’t a high priority for me. As Chicago Cynic said, it’s a sign of sloppiness in my case, not ignorance. Plus I don’t type well.
I take good pride in my language skills though and am mortified by my typos. I think grammar and vocabulary are higher priorities than spelling.
Spell check is fine but if you use the wrong word it doesn’t help much. They’re, there and their can be spelled correctly but are terribly misused.
Comment by 47th Ward Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:34 pm
For better or worse, communications errors (spelling or otherwise) cause others to form an opinion about you. Proper attention to spelling may not ever help you but lack of attention to it could potentially have a negative effect.
My kids were both excellent students/spellers. They hardly even abbreviate on Twitter!
Comment by BleugrassBoy Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:38 pm
I notice spelling first and then grammar. I am sorry to reveal that i am elitist, but they give insight into a person’s class, education and background
Comment by Publius Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:40 pm
I am a great speller except I always mess up on “occasion” or “occurred”.
Blank: I am also a stickler on grammar. I try not to correct people in general, only my kids, on misuse of words, such as “I’m done”–you mean “I’m finished” [food is done; work is finished]. Also, everyone’s tendancy to use adjectives when adverbs should be used. I can’t think of an example right now, but it is rampant these days.
Comment by 32nd Ward Roscoe Village Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:48 pm
It’s about grammar, not spelling, but if you want a laugh about a legitimate communications issue, please read the book Eats Shoots and Leaves (without commas, the example is about a panda; with commas, about something very different.) On that note, has anyone else noticed how horrific the Trib’s editing is recently? Typos everywhere…
Comment by 1sr warder Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 2:56 pm
My marks in elementary school weren’t great for spelling but as keyboards took over in school I was a pretty good natural speller which fed my inner slacker, allowing me to turn in the only drafts of papers through college.
Now I’m on a smart phone and use a Swype keyboard so I do terrible things with the help of autofill/correct.
Comment by In 630 Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 3:02 pm
Spelling seems to be less important the more texting is in vogue. R U reading this?
Comment by Calico Jim Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 3:06 pm
Many moons ago, I worked in HR and reviewed scores of employment applications and resumes. Those that contained spelling or grammatical errors were automatically disqualified.
So I guess it is pretty important to me.
Comment by Jake From Elwood Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 3:09 pm
I will let my posts speak for themselves…
Comment by Ghost Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 3:10 pm
Not entirely important however in elementary school I had to take spelling tests and while we also had spelling bees for whatever reason I never participated.
Comment by Levois Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 3:10 pm
Started out a poor speller…worked hard to get decent at it (still a terrible speller, and my neck injury has made me even worse).
From the names, I am guessing the two noted in the article are ethnically South Asian (and perhaps not too many generations here). I suppose if one is going to play to a stereotype, it is better to play to a good one.
Comment by titan Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 3:14 pm
I’m and engineer, I spell with numbers.
Comment by Cincinnatus Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 3:16 pm
I won the spelling bee with the word “marsupial”.
Comment by LincolnLounger Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 3:17 pm
I consider myself a good speller but like others I mistype certain words consistently incorreclty and have to go back to correct or get reminded by spell check that I mispelled beleive again. (I before e except after c)
Comment by LisleMike Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 3:18 pm
Titan, I know this sounds crazy, but perhaps ethnically, they originate from the united states, and share a national heritage with the US.
Afterall, we are all just Pangeans if you want to go back far enough…
Comment by Ghost Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 3:19 pm
Darn…also a terible proof reader - that was supposed to be still a terrible typist
Comment by titan Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 3:27 pm
I empathize about the spelling bee.
I threw my 6th grade spelling be on ’separate’, spelling it ’seperate’. I was watching a friend in the front row and she mouthed the letters to me; since I saw it, I thought I could be accused of cheating if I spelled it right.
I probably would’ve lost on ‘jodhpur’ when it came up anyhow.
Comment by Stuff happens Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 3:29 pm
Very impotent.
Comment by Farm Boy Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 3:52 pm
Extremely important.
My grandmother was a first-generation American to non-English speaking parents and drilled it into me as a kid how important proper spelling is to communicate intelligence.
One of my best friends as an adult is someone I actually got into an argument with in grade school over grading each other’s spelling tests. (One of us was not giving the other a pass for failing to cross a T)
My 8th grade year I won my school’s spelling bee and did not win the county bee (I went out on “squalid”) but finished high enough that I was supposed to advance to the next round for the regional spelling bee. Unfortunately I had a band/chorus competition the same day as a bee and that took precedence. Oh what glory might have been!
Comment by hisgirlfriday Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 3:55 pm
My mother (a librarian) was always a stickler for spelling, and I inherited that trait. I think spelling errors on documents like resumes are absolutely unacceptable. Even my text messages are spelled and punctuated correctly.
I took fifth place in my county spelling bee in eighth grade after missing the word “cronyism.” I spelled it with “ie” instead of “y,” even though it did not look right when I visualized it. Now I see it frequently in political writing! For the rest of my life, I’ll remember how to spell that word correctly.
Comment by Tim Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 3:56 pm
“(I before e except after c)”
FYI, the full rule is i before e except after c, and when sounding in “a” like neighbor and weigh.
Comment by One Ocean Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 3:59 pm
I’m a pretty good speller, and it drives me batty when I see words misspelled. I won my 3rd grade spelling bee, but I don’t remember what the winning word was. I just remember feeling like I was going to pass out from the pressure. Looking back, it seems a bit silly to be that stressed over a spelling bee. It’s not like it was an entrance exam for college or a job interview. I guess that was the first stressful event I had experienced in my whopping 8 years on earth.
Comment by ??? Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 4:01 pm
Given that I grade college papers for a living, very …
Some of my favorite recent lowlights: a stirring essay on Obama’s failure to enact “gin control,” the Supreme Court’s enforcement of the right to bare arms, and the financial support for Democrats from “Silicone Valley.”
Comment by ZC Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 4:09 pm
R U reading this?
No. Nor do I read anything typed by someone who can’t use a shift key. Both show a serious lack of respect for the people attempting to read what’s been typed.
Comment by Chavez-respecting Obamist Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 4:17 pm
I was going to spell something cute incorrectly. Bunch of smart guys and gals beat me to it. Now it’s no fun.
I was in spelling bees beginning in the third grade. I almost took first place once. Don’t remember the word. I was completely undone by it. Rich, your assessor story is a hoot! As I get older, I forget how to spell things I used to spell without effort. FRUSTRATING!!!
Comment by Say What? Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 4:37 pm
I’m no spelling snob, but I refuse to read anything written in bingo.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 4:48 pm
=I notice spelling first and then grammar. I am sorry to reveal that i am elitist, but they give insight into a person’s class, education and background=
What a surprise, coming from “Publis” especially.
I think I might have already chimed in on this one long ago. It was my mispronounciation, rather than spelling of a word, that cost me 1st place in a Spelling Bee. I learned the hard way: soon after that, no one was able to discern my country of origin, or guess at how many languages I can speak–even to this very day.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 5:14 pm
Oh, dear! Did I spell Publius’ handle incorrectly? Quite unintentional, I assure you!
Hmpf.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 5:16 pm
Vary importint.
Comment by Just The Way It Is One Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 5:22 pm
Or should that have been “Pfft?”
I have to admit that I still have problems with certain American idioms (only because I have little interest in learning, or remembering them) and slang (only because I’ve been “out of it” for oh…a decade or so, as many people my age might be–and because slang is a regional thing even in a small area such as our State (from which, again, I’ve been “away” for a while).)
However, if pressed, I’d argue that my knowledge of idioms in other languages and cultures far outweighs said “flaws.”
As IF that’s supposed to matter to me somehow.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 5:24 pm
As I follow up SO many times after I misspell something in my Comments…That was MEANT to read “Very important…!”
Comment by Just The Way It Is One Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 5:25 pm
But I’m sure it might to Publius, snob that HE may be.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 5:26 pm
My Mother was an English major in college, so bad spelling or grammar was met with the wrath of God.
Comment by Dead Head Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 5:31 pm
Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtsy it doesn’t mttaer in wahht order the ltteers in a word are, the olny iprmoetet thing is that the frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can still raed it wouthit porbelm. This is bcuseae we don’t raed ervey lteter by it slef but the word as a whloe.
Comment by countryboy Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 5:38 pm
George Bernard Shaw poked fun at English spelling/pronunciation; he spelled the word fish as ghoti (”gh” as in tough, “o” as in women, and “ti” as in nation.
Comment by countryboy Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 5:43 pm
=== even today I get very upset at myself for misspelling a word ===
It’s like you’re in my head, Rich.
Any time I catch an error I feel embarased (only one “S”, in honor of your spelling bee story).
I assume that anyone else reading my work noticed it immediately and that it stands out to them like a scarlet letter.
Truth is, most folks likely don’t care at all.
But being a gud speller is crucial to gud communication.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 6:04 pm
Very much important.
Never could understand if infrequently was one word or two, and learned the hard way that harass was one word.
Like you say, “yeah, how times have changed”.
Comment by Sunshine Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 7:14 pm
As a paid former writer (5 books) and book editor (another 4 or 5), and now a (volunteer) collector car newsletter editor since 2007, being able to spell is helpful. The good news is the automated spelling and grammar tools in the software; the bad news is you learn to depend on the tools.
Now if I could just learn to type better … but after 45 years since my last typing class, it probably isn’t going to happen.
Comment by RNUG Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 8:42 pm
My seventh grade teacher always said that our intelligence would be judged by how we spell and our penmanship. I’m not sure about penmanship but I know I become judgmental when I see poor spelling and it is not a typo.
Comment by Robert Lincoln Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 9:15 pm
We are STILL sticklers! I have a Webster’s an arm’s reach from my computer and I still HATE the word GOT. If your spelling is poor, you are lazy. If your grammar is poor, you are lazy and stupid! Your Mother censored out the last part.
Comment by Rich Miller Sr Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 9:46 pm
I had always been an excellent speller, but then I went to Germany to attend university and after a year writing and speaking in German, began confusing the two languages with words found in both, but spelled differently. German is more phonetically correct and looks more correct, so I’m a lot more confused when writing in English.
Spelling is important, but knowing more than one language is even more important.
Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 9:58 pm
I also dislike the word “got”. My vocabulary is definitely Edwardian. I love my William Dean Howell literature.
Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 10:03 pm
An appearance by @Rich Miller, Sr.!
Quite the treat. My night is now complete.
Buenas noches, one and all.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Monday, Jun 10, 13 @ 10:25 pm
Spelling is not as important as word choice, which is not as important as clear construction, which is not as important as having a clear message.
Perfect spelling is useless if you put the wrong words in convoluted construction in an essay with no point.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Jun 11, 13 @ 7:03 am