Interview on NPR’s Morning Edition about what makes Spelling Bee words so difficult to spell. (June 1, 2011)
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is under way outside Washington, D.C., and over the next few days, 275 kids from ages 8 to 15 will put their spelling skills to the test.
“These kids are spending sometimes a few hours a day going through word lists” to learn the most difficult words in English, linguist Ben Zimmer tells NPR’s Renee Montagne. “Very often, they are coming from immigrant families that really prize learning English as part of becoming assimilated into American culture. So, my hat’s off to all of these young spellers.”
(Show page, audio, transcript, related Word Routes column; see also UPI, Newser)