Tuesday, May 29, 2012
SCHUHPLATTLER- OR ZORTZICO-WORTHY NEWS? Scripps will host a press conference tomorrow to discuss its plans to create an international Spelling Bee, in which countries would enter teams of three "to compete on an international stage before a worldwide broadcast audience. Each speller would compete individually, but with the opportunity to call on teammates for assistance one time during the competition." Scripps further suggests "awards could be given for the highest achievements by spellers whose first language is not English, the best humanitarian uses of the English language and, of course, the highest overall ranked competitors."
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"the best humanitarian uses of the English language" wait, what?
ReplyDelete... I'm having trouble seeing the correlation.
I hope this is one of those joke sentences Dr. Bailly has been using in recent years.
ReplyDeleteIf it isn't a quote from the Blues Brothers or Caddyshack, then that award has no meaning.
ReplyDeleteNext they'll be replacing the savings bonds they give the kids with 10 year Greek bonds*, and denominating prizes in euros. In the interest of, y'know, internationalizing things.
ReplyDelete*All sales final, no refund in event of national default.
In all seriousness, though, I don't have any objections to the idea of an international spelling bee -- the Math Olympiad already does something similar. I'm just really wondering how that whole "humanitarian uses of the English language" prize will be awarded. [My vote is that Matt and Trey get it, because their utilization thereof in pursuit of returning celebrities' egos to ground is nothing short of humanitarian.]
ReplyDeleteI'd be all in favor of a *real* international Bee, with the Scripps champion up against one from Britain, one from Australia, etc. etc.
ReplyDeleteBut what they're talking about sounds like some sort of treacly political correctness thing.
Not schuhplattler or zortzico. Maybe sardoodledom (because the idea makes me want to laugh hysterically) or alopecoid (I'll just faint and fall over).
Am I the only one who's a fan of the phone-a-friend lifeline?
ReplyDeleteSorry, but that's like getting a Mulligan in the Masters Tournament.
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan of the schuhplattler...
ReplyDeleteFor reasons that should be obvious, I am a huge fan of the phone-a-friend lifeline, though perhaps not in the context of the Bee.
ReplyDeleteThe bee couldn't have come at a worse time work-wise for me this year so sadly, I'll probably be watching a replay later in the summer. Just had to pipe in and say that I'm just as confused over what is meant by "the best humanitarian uses of the English language." My guess is that they don't know either but for that, they have to include one sentence about Kony2012. Have a wonderful time, folks! I'll be watching with you in spirit.
ReplyDeleteIf this has half the fun of the ongoing fights between Americans and the rest of the world over proper Scrabble dictionary usage, this could be more fun than we think.
ReplyDelete