Scripps National Spelling Bee
on ABC
By Ally Matteodo
Spelling bees are a practice
steeped in American tradition; and ABC’s broadcast of the National Spelling
Bee championship, aired Friday, June 4th, at 8:00 p.m. ET, deserves the
award of Best TV Show of the Week. The 83rd annual bee
took place in Washington D.C. and featured ten finalists, taken from a pool of
11 million children. For this particular spelling bee the effervescent Chris
Harrison acted as host and provided running commentary during the entirety of
the two-hour show. The final contestants hailed from all corners of the United
States, ranging from Texas to North Dakota, and one from Toronto, Canada. The
judges present the spellers with a word, and then the contestants must relay the
spelling orally. They are allowed to ask for the pronunciation, the etymology,
and the use of the word in a sentence. If the speller gives the correct answer,
they stay on stage and continue the competition. If the answer they give is
wrong, the dreaded sound of the bell tells them they must join their families in
the audience. In the final round Anamika Veeramani, a 14-year-old from
Cleveland, Ohio, won with the word “stromuhr,” a noun referring to a rheometer
designed to measure the amount and speed of blood flow through an artery.
Spelling bees have been popular
customs in the United States for hundreds of years, and it is clear that this
classic tradition is continuing. Although the participants are young, ranging
in age from 11 to 14, they all exhibited courage and poise when spelling out the
words. It’s a very rigorous and grueling competition, and the young contestants
pour over dictionaries, learn different languages, and examine etymologies
religiously. Hard work, perseverance, and familial support are all positive
themes throughout the program; and watching a spelling bee is very educational.
The meanings and the etymologies of the words are almost always given, so during
the course of the night a viewer will undoubtedly learn many new words. The bee
displays well the beauty and variety of the English language, as well as making
evident the fact that the English language is derived from many other
languages. The National Spelling Bee makes it clear that the classics
never go out of style.
Best TV Show
of the Week
The Parents
Television Council -
www.parentstv.org
