The US National Spelling Bee 2016 has been won jointly by two boys of Indian origin, Nihar Janga and Jairam Hathwar. Seven of the ten who entered the last round were desis, aged 11 to 13. I wonder if any child of Goan parentage has ever participated. (Incidentally, you can catch repeats of the telecast on ESPN.) This year's bee seemed particularly tough. I would not have lasted long. How would you have fared? Check yourself against the words the contestants faced, culled from http://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2016/may/27/the-agony-and-the-ecstasy-the-usas-national-spelling-bee :
myoclonus, the irregular involuntary contraction of a muscle usually resulting from functional disorder of controlling motor neurons. pneumatomachy, which is a denial of the Holy Spirit. hirundine, an adjective meaning of, relating to, or resembling the swallow. comitatus, a body of wellborn men attached to a king or chieftain by the duty of military service. moshav, a Hebrew word for a cooperative community of farmers. vasopressin, a pituitary hormone that acts to promote the retention of water by the kidneys and increase blood pressure. esquisse, a first usually rough sketch. chaussure, a word for footgear. epistaxis, a word for bleeding from the nose. galego, a Wolof word meaning bush baby. illicium, a Latin word meaning first spine of the dorsal fin. chubasco, which is a severe squall of rain. guyot, a flat-topped submarine mountain. panachure, a French-derived word meaning mottling. palagonite, a basaltic glass that is more or less altered and devitrified and that occurs with volcanic ash in the form of a basaltic tuff. Wehrmacht, a word for the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1946. ptyxis, a word for the way in which an individual leaf is folded in the bud. levirate, a custom of the ancient Hebrews and other peoples by which a man may be obliged to marry his brother’s widow. soogee, a Japanese-derived word meaning a clean rope yarns used to wash with. betony. Venetic, an ancient language of NE Italy. amanitin, a highly toxic cyclic peptide produced by the death cap that selectively inhibits mammalian RNA polymerase chalazion, a cyst in the eyelid. hypozeuxis, a rhetorical term for an expression or sentence where every clause has its own independent subject and predicate. rhinolophid. ptyalism, an excessive production of saliva. calamistrum, in spiders, a row of specialized leg bristles used to comb out fine bands of silk. theriaca, an antidote to poison. iiwi, a Hawaiian honeycreeper with a long, down-curved bill and mainly bright red plumage. prochoos, a tall slender ancient Greek jug used especially to hold water for washing hands. shubunkin, a goldfish of an ornamental variety, having black spots, red patches, and long fins and tail. epergne, an ornamental centerpiece for a dining table, typically used for holding fruit or flowers. gisant – a recumbent effigy on a tomb depicting a prominent deceased person in the process of dying or as a corpse. kakiemon, a type of Japanese porcelain. poitrel, a medieval often richly decorated piece of armor used to protect the breast of a horse. caracal, a type of cat found in Africa and Asia. bailliage. ekka, a light two-wheeled, one-horse, one-passenger carriage used in India. aplustre, the curved ornamented stern of an ancient Greek or Roman ship. Collyridian, one of a heretical sect in the 4th and 5th centuries chiefly in Arabia that employed women as priestesses to offer sacrifices in the form of rolls of bread to the Virgin Mary. Quillon, the crossguard on a sword. nasaump, an Algonquin word meaning kernels of hulled corn. chaoborine. launeddas, a Sardinian triple clarinet. berceuse. usucapion, a mode of acquiring title to property by uninterrupted possession of it for a definite period (as one year for movables or two for immovables) under a title acquired in good faith. geländesprung, which is a jump, usually over an obstacle, in which one plants both poles in the snow in advance of the skis, bends close to the ground, and propels oneself chiefly by the use of the poles. schepen, a type of municipal officer in Holland. achalasia, the failure of a ring of muscle to relax. cypraeiform, ripieno, lerot, melilot, giallolino, harmattan, a dry dust-laden wind in Africa. appetitost, fothergilla, keurboom, ergataner, biniou, gyttja, taoiseach, chremslach, uintjie, whau, a New Zealand tree of the family Tiliaceae, gerrhosaurid, drahthaar,rafraîchissoir, a table of the 18th century having a cooler for bottles and shelves for plates,ayacahuite, doab, lygaeid, krausen, promyshlennik, écorché, villancico, doab, lygaeid, myiasis, Stymphalian, parinari, ynambu, pavonazzetto, kjeldahl, guignolet, phulkari, haab, Hohenzollern, juamave, Groenendael, Mischsprache, tetradrachm, zindiq, euchologion, Feldenkrais, the name of a somatic educational system, gesellschaft, a world for social relations based on impersonal ties, as duty to a society or organization.
