Scripps

If you don't know what Scripps National Spelling Bee is about....you really shouldn't read this post.

There was a movie last year about this annual competition that takes place in America. It's no difference this year and the final 15 have already emerged with the favourite stumbling on the word "CLEVIS" which he spelt as "CLEVICE".

This competition started in 1925 and it's been going strong ever since. And if you look at the names of the competitors, I do believe it gives an idea of the social changes that took place over the years.

Semis are televised live on ESPN and finals are on ABC. I guess if a boy or a girl standing on a stage with a placard hung over his neck can be televised on ESPN, so can gaming as in the World Cyber Games.

Look at some of the championship words: gladiolus (1925) - a type of sword lily or middle of the sternum, insouciant (1951) - meaning nonchalant, soubrette (1953) - flirtatious young lady, smaragdine (1961) - relating to emerald, esquamulose (1962) - typically spelt without the e, meaning having tiny scales, staphylococci (1987) - a type of parasitic bacteria.

It's amazing the amount of time people put into this spelling competition. It gives a competitor great advantage if s/he masters other languages besides English such as Greek, Latin, French and other older languages because of their etymology values when it comes to words that dont' sound like English anymore.