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reds4ever
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of the Spion Kop
Mar 2001
time: 05:22
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WTF???
I'm watching the film/documentary and it's official, Yanks are mad!!!
Anyone else seen (or even been a part of) this slice of madness?!
Last edited by reds4ever on 15-04-2005 at 02:39
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mrmitchell
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quote:
I am sorry, I didn't say "Rebel" or "Carpetbagger"... Perhaps if I use it in a sentence? |
F I X I N T O G E T A A R K A N S A S S T Y L E A S S W H U P P I N "Japher" 
Spelling bees have been in American schools since the 1800s--they are a good academic way to satisfy competitive spirit in youth, and for the most part on the local level it's just good fun between brainiacs. No idea about national level, though. Some kids are actually smart, a few just memorize dictionaries--since the oldest age you can be in a Bee is your 8th grade year (about 13 years old), very few participants have the attention span to go to the work of memorizing dictionaries.
English is a good language to have a spelling bee in because there are a lot of silent letters, a lot of words that are not spelled phonetically, words borrowed and/or corrupted from nearly every worthwhile spoken language, and sometimes words are just plain strange.
Fate - the last E is not pronounced, it is "FAYt" (maybe "FAYtuh") not "Fay-tee"
Orgasmic - the Z sound can be made with s or z. There's no rule of thumb to be sure.
coup - borrowed from French and not pronounced like a residence for chickens although that's what it looks like. Many borrowed words retain the pronunciations of their original languages, which means you have to know where the hell a word is just plain coming from to say it sometimes.
fajita - a Mexican food with a "h"-sound J. Although I have witnessed one pronunciation "fuh JEYE tuh", to much laughter.
words that are just plain strange:
words that are spelled alike but aren't sound alike
that are sounded alike but aren't spelled alike
synonyms that have exactly the same definition and usage
words with multiple definitions
words with multiple pronunciations
on top of that, you get to throw accents in and regional variations in spelling and word usage--a cockney, australian, and Louisianan could not have a decent conversation together without translative aid.
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molly bloom
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Lundenwic
Oct 2001
time: 15:22
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quote:
Originally posted by Kamrat X
You mean the pilgrims had spelling bees? I find this hard to believe... |
Well, you know, get your priorities straight- you're starving, don't know how to plough a field, can't fish to save your life, are having fallouts based on what minority sect you do or don't belong to, wars with hostile natives- solution?
A spelling contest !
Last edited by molly bloom on 15-04-2005 at 19:07
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JohnT
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Capitalist
Mar 1999
time: 00:22
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quote:
Originally posted by Pekka
second generation immigrants, dude, that's native already. What's up with your racism today?
Spelling Bee, Just fine.
Spelling Bee with sadistic parents, evil. |
We have a bit of experience with immigrants in this country, being that people actually WANT TO COME HERE. Unlike, erm, Finland.
Anyway, 2nd-generation immigrants are pushed hard by their first-generation parents. Nothing "racist" about it.
However, I do love charges of "racism" coming from a country that's what, 99.9% lily-white? What do y'all know about the subject in any of its forms?
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alva
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Republic of Flanders
Sep 2001
time: 06:22
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quote:
Originally posted by mrmitchell
F I X I N T O G E T A A R K A N S A S S T Y L E A S S W H U P P I N "Japher"
Spelling bees have been in American schools since the 1800s--they are a good academic way to satisfy competitive spirit in youth, and for the most part on the local level it's just good fun between brainiacs. No idea about national level, though. Some kids are actually smart, a few just memorize dictionaries--since the oldest age you can be in a Bee is your 8th grade year (about 13 years old), very few participants have the attention span to go to the work of memorizing dictionaries.
English is a good language to have a spelling bee in because there are a lot of silent letters, a lot of words that are not spelled phonetically, words borrowed and/or corrupted from nearly every worthwhile spoken language, and sometimes words are just plain strange.
Fate - the last E is not pronounced, it is "FAYt" (maybe "FAYtuh") not "Fay-tee"
Orgasmic - the Z sound can be made with s or z. There's no rule of thumb to be sure.
coup - borrowed from French and not pronounced like a residence for chickens although that's what it looks like. Many borrowed words retain the pronunciations of their original languages, which means you have to know where the hell a word is just plain coming from to say it sometimes.
fajita - a Mexican food with a "h"-sound J. Although I have witnessed one pronunciation "fuh JEYE tuh", to much laughter.
words that are just plain strange:
words that are spelled alike but aren't sound alike
that are sounded alike but aren't spelled alike
synonyms that have exactly the same definition and usage
words with multiple definitions
words with multiple pronunciations
on top of that, you get to throw accents in and regional variations in spelling and word usage--a cockney, australian, and Louisianan could not have a decent conversation together without translative aid. |
You have no idea how difficult other languages are, do you. 
Try this gems from ze langue de Molière:
"Vers un vers d'un verre de vers verts. Vers un vers de vers de verre vert."
Yes, they are all pronounced the same way, though have a completely different meaning.
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15-04-2005 02:32
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