• SabinStargem@lemmy.todayEnglish
    2·
    3 hours ago

    The girl lost, despite having the cooler deity. She forgot a period. Both failed to capitalize the start of the sentence, however. The Flying Spaghetti Monster is disappointed in them.

  • Blackmist@feddit.ukEnglish
    16·
    10 hours ago

    “America prays for God to destroy our enemies. Our enemies pray for God to destroy us. Somebody is going to be disappointed. Somebody is wasting their fucking time. Could it be everyone?”

    – George Carlin.

  • melfie@lemy.lol
    5·
    11 hours ago

    It’s seems pretty absurd when you think about it that there is such a disconnect between how English words are pronounced and spelled that we have spelling bees. It seems that all of the effort to coordinate a spelling bee on a wide scale could’ve been used to develop and standardize a more phonetic writing system. Instead, we have made a competition out of rote memorization. Those kids should instead be praying for an overhauled writing system where there aren’t superfluous letters and exceptions to every rule so the next generation doesn’t have to struggle as much to learn to read.

      • melfie@lemy.lol
        1·
        2 hours ago

        I’ve heard of past efforts along these lines, but good to see a more comprehensive account.

    • wabasso@lemmy.caEnglish
      2·
      10 hours ago

      I felt this way about language for a long time but I’ve now fully embraced descriptivism over prescriptivism. You literally can’t fight language :P

    • zalgotext@sh.itjust.works
      22·
      10 hours ago

      Eh, I feel like it teaches etymology, which I think is interesting. It’s cool to know how many loan words we have from other languages, and how other languages shaped our own. It’s kinda weird to turn that knowledge into a competition I suppose, but it’s far from the weirdest thing on ESPN8

      • melfie@lemy.lol
        21·
        9 hours ago

        Given the number of kids in high school who still can’t read that well and the number of dyslexic people who struggle, I’m not sure preserving the heritage should be the priority. If we thought this way about programming languages, we probably would still be using assembly for everything.

        • zalgotext@sh.itjust.works
          1·
          6 hours ago

          I think it’s closer to learning binary and Boolean logic as the precursor to programming, learning about transistor circuitry as the precursor to that, and learning more fundamental electronic circuitry as the precursor to that.

          We use assembly where it’s appropriate, people build digital circuitry where it’s appropriate, people still build more basic/fundamental circuits where it’s appropriate. Learning the etymology of words is interesting and an important part of history and anthropology, as it helps us piece together how people in the past interacted. Again, I agree that it’s kinda weird to make a competition out of spelling. All I’m trying to say is that one of the side effects of spelling bees is that more people learn about the etymology and history of words, which is neat.

  • HowAbt2day@futurology.todayEnglish
    45·
    1 day ago

    Per the results of the last several dozen Spelling Bees, at least in the US, Ganesha is obviously listening to these prayers.

    • lugal@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      25·
      1 day ago

      at least in the US

      I’m not sure if it exists outside the US. Maybe in other parts of the anglosphere. I know it from The Simpsons and the concept is foreign for languages with more or less straightforward spelling

        • Fizz@lemmy.nz
          1·
          6 hours ago

          I had them in primary and intermediate school. Everyone hated them except the one nerd kid who could actually spell things.

          • tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip
            2·
            3 hours ago

            Watching that and Taskmaster NZ makes me think there are like 2 dozen comedians in the entire country and they just run around doing different TV shows where sometimes they’re the guest and sometimes they host. And occasionally there aren’t enough people so they have to import some from Australia.

        • SippyCup@lemmy.ml
          1·
          11 hours ago

          They started in the US as, get this, a way to sell spelling books to children. Because the US had (and has!) it’s own spelling system, the standard spelling book was being sold to schools around the country and to sell more of them, the publishers held competitions.

          • lugal@lemmy.dbzer0.com
            1·
            3 hours ago

            Because the US had (and has!) it’s own spelling system

            English wasn’t standardized before the American revolution so it’s not like they abolished the existing standard but they came up with their own when other nations did. Australia and Canada fall somewhere between US and British spelling and don’t get me started on NZ. I don’t know shit about NZ.

      • espentan@lemmy.world
        16·
        1 day ago

        This. I’ve never heard of spelling bees outside of the US. I remember learning about it though movies/tv, and thought it was very odd because of course you know how to spell words, otherwise, how would one write.

        But yeah, English definitely has more words that can throw you off.

        • Pechente@feddit.org
          3·
          18 hours ago

          The reason is most likely that English isn’t phonetically consistent (i.e. you don’t say stuff the way you write it) while other languages like German and Spanish are, so it doesn’t make sense for those.

            • SippyCup@lemmy.ml
              6·
              11 hours ago

              That is pretty much how they do it. They do have spelling bees in China, and it’s more about writing the correct character down than reciting it.

                • tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip
                  2·
                  3 hours ago

                  I dunno about China but in Japan they sometimes have segments where they ask guests to read obscure characters, and other ones where you’re supposed to write the character they name. Writing kanji is somewhat comparable to spelling words in English.

  • Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    351·
    1 day ago

    Ganesh would absolutely fucking destroy Jesus. A carpenter with a couple of magic tricks vs The Elephant God™? Please.