Saturday, Feb 09, 2013
Dubai: Words that might make you shudder trying to pronounce - let alone spell - were tackled by child finalists of the Danube Spelling Bee Championship in Dubai on Saturday.
They correctly spelt words like phytophilous, xerostomia, and arenicolous, among thousands of other head-scratchers.
The spelling contest, formatted after a 125-year-old American tradition - the Scripps National Spelling Bee - saw 101 finalists from UAE schools each get two minutes to correctly spell a random word presented by an announcer.
One mistake and they were out.
The final was held yesterday at DUCTAC (Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Centre) at the Mall of the Emirates.
Their skills questioned the stereotype that today’s text-mad teens are giving proper spelling a pass.
“Auto-correct function on your computer or smart phone helps if you pay attention to the correct word. Some people just hit ‘space’ and insert the right spelling in, not even looking at the word. That won’t help you learn,” said Muneem Khan, 14, a ninth-grader finalist from Dubai’s Cambridge International School.
Venket Krishnan, 54, father of finalist Nisha Venkat, added: “If you can drop in a few tough words in an interview or presentation, it makes a big impression.”
“I think the contestants’ level of skill was excellent. Technology can spoil spelling, but when you’re taking standardised college admission tests like TOEFL and SAT, you won’t have access to technology. So you need to know what’s correct,” said Renu Singh managing director of contest organiser Exquity Events.
As the contestants - 11 to 15-year-olds - were eliminated one by one, it was XYZ from ABC school that was crowned champion.
She correctly spelt XYZ, taking home a Dh25,000 cash prize by MetLife Alico.
There were other rewards by Emax electronics chain. This years competition offered a bonus - the UAE champ gets an all-expense-paid trip to Washington to witness the US Scripps National Spelling Bee.
By Faisal Masudi Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
