Registration Begins

On the spelling bee website (spellingbee.com), it says that school registration for the Scripps National Spelling Bee has begun. The price is higher this year, $109, unlike prior years when it was just $99. Make sure your school is enrolled before the deadline: October 17, 2011.

Since The Valley Journals started sponsoring spellers for the spelling bee, my sister's school has been enrolling since then. Her studies are going well and she is doing amazing! I do not know how she figured out bremsstrahlung so quickly, but I guess she's been reading How to Spell Like a Champ or one of my etymology dictionaries.

Good luck to all the spellers competing this year!

Spanish Rules - Part 1

Spanish is an important language to learn in our lives. I took Spanish from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade, but it was not for a grade. In fourth and fifth grade, we learned conversational Spanish and I still remember most of the phrases.

It is best to spell Spanish words as they sound with the exception for a few consonants: ll, which is usually pronounced "y" and j, which is pronounced "h".

The Spanish alphabet does not have a k, although k is found in English words from Spanish only when Spanish has borrowed those words from some other language. Latin also has an influence on French.

Do not use a ph spelling for the "f" sound in Spanish-derived words.

The long "a" sound is spelled e. (examples: zarzuela, capeador, coleta)

The "g" + long "a" sound is spelled gue. (examples: vargueno, malaguena)

The long "a" sound at the end of the word is spelled e. (examples: suerte, bombre, guanche)

The long "e" sound at the end of the word is spelled with an  i or e. (examples: bonaci, caji, zacate, timbe)

I will post more rules tomorrow or when I have time!

Registration

Registration for the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee begins on August 16th, which is twelve days from now! My friends, sister, and cousin are very excited to compete. If the Bee was extended throughout high school I would be competing. At least I am very excited for every single speller at all levels. Who knows who will win the entire Bee?

On the first day of school last year, I mentioned the spelling bee in English class and my school enrolled immediately. I had been studying for such a long time that I had to make sure my school was enrolled. Before 2010 and 2011, I went to a school that did not sign up for Scripps, and from 2007-2009, I had to compete in the Association of Christian Schools International Spelling Bee. The first - fourth graders could only go through class, school, then district, but I was sick the day of the school bee. Remember that there was no sponsor from my area 2002-2008.

The Bee will be very exciting this year and I cannot wait for all of activities! Good luck to everyone!

Japanese Rules

After losing Internet connection for several days, I finally get to start posting Japanese Rules. There were a lot of Japanese words used at the National Spelling Bee this year, such as teppanyaki, haori, urushiye, and gagaku.

The long "a" sound is spelled ei or e. (examples: geisha, yosenabe, reiki)

The long "e" sound at the end of the word is spelled with an i or e. (examples: chorogi, gi, koji, Meiji, yakitori, momme, mume)

The long "i" sound is spelled ai. (examples: bonsai, kaiseki, yamamai)

The long "o" sound is spelled o. (examples: gyokuro, zendo, gingko)

The "oo" sound is spelled u. (examples: chanoyu, zaibatsu, shiatsu)

The "k" sound is spelled k. (examples: kakemono, bugaku, soba)

The schwa sound at the end of the word is spelled a. (examples: ikebana, kana, katana)

Words that have double consonants: hokku, issei, momme, seppuku, shikken, tenno, teppanyaki

Unfortunately, I do not know any songs in Japanese. Whenever I can, I will post more rules for the next origins. Continue studying and good luck!

Italian Rules - Part 3

I do not think I will be able to record the Italian song today, because I have a sore throat. I will probably do it later in the week. Today, I will finish the Italian section, then go onto Japanese tomorrow (or whenever I can).
For the Final Day of Italian Rules:

The "ts" sound is spelled zz. (examples: intermezzo, palazzo, pizzicato)

There are words that have tt. (examples: allegretto, graffito, regatta)

The "ny" sound is spelled gn. (examples: agnolotti, Bolognese, malmignatte)

The "sk before the long or short "e" sound is spelled sch. (examples: maraschino, scherzo)

The schwa at the end of the word is spelled with an a. (examples: buffa, camorra, cantata)

A lot of words in Italian have a silent g. (examples: intaglio, gnocchi, and scagliola)

Like in Latin and French, Italian words usually avoid using the letter k.

Aiming High/Sister's, Cousin's, and Friend's Studies

After Anna-Marie Sprenger tied for 27th at the National Spelling Bee this year, I learned that several of my friends want to win the National Spelling Bee. They first were inspired by me and were disappointed that I never saw my dream become reality, but Anna-Marie brought me joy when she was the first speller from Utah to make it to semifinals! If you are reading this, Anna-Marie, I say that this is a huge accomplishment! Advancing to semifinals sure is not easy. Thanks for encouraging my friends!

I wanted to win when Kavya Shivashankar won in 2009. She was only ten when she made it to the Championship Finals in 2006 and I was very impressed. Kavya was a great inspiration to me and I wish her sister, Vanya, the best of luck next year!

You always want to do better than before. For example, a speller ties for 14th this year, then wins next year. Sukanya Roy tied for 12th in 2009 and 20th in 2010, but won this year. It does not matter how low your ranking was, but it is all the time and effort you put into this.

My sister wants to advance to semifinals next year, then will try to make it to championship finals. She is really studying hard now. I started her with the Nintendo DS and she has made it to the Ultimate Level, but has difficulties figuring out several words. She has also been using Visual Thesaurus (visualthesaurus.com/bee) and that has been pretty helpful, even if she does not have an account. I do not have an account, either, but still love to use it.

Here are some of her favorite words:

Abib  (aveev)
caffeol
bhutatathata
Maecenas
hyperbole
eohippus
Bewusstseinslage
snipsnapsnorum
visite

I do not know how my cousin is doing, because she is either going to compete at the Daily Camera Spelling Bee in Boulder, Colorado or the Denver Post Spelling Bee in Denver, Colorado. If she does the Daily Camera Spelling Bee, she may have a good chance of making it to nationals, but at the Denver Post Spelling Bee, there is Dhivya Murugan, who tied for sixth this year, so I do not know my cousin's chances there.

I have a friend who lives in Arkansas and he is a really good speller. When he lived here in Utah, he won his school spelling bee two years in a row. He even received the word infralapsarianism and spelled it correctly. He knows a lot of music terms, too, because he plays the violin.

All of my friends are contenders to win their regional bees. I cannot wait to see the results! Good luck to all and continue spelling!

Italian Rules - Part 2

The "y" + long "o" sound at the end of the word is spelled io. (examples: latticinio, preludio, verdicchio)

The "eenie" sound at the end of the word is spelled ini. (examples: rappini, spiedini, ditalini)

The "ch" sound is spelled cc. (examples: focaccia, breccia, carpaccio)

The "k" sound before schwa or long "o" sound is spelled cc or just c (examples: beccafico, zoccolo, pecorino, giocoso)

The "k" sound before schwa, short "a" is spelled c. (examples: cantata, campanile)

The "k" sound before the long "e", short "e", or long "a" sounds is spelled ch. (examples: chianti, chiaroscuro, marchesa)

Tomorrow will be the last day of posting Italian rules. Hopefully I will get a song up in Italian as well. So continue spelling and study a lot! Good luck!