SPELLSHAKTI

While the coronavirus impact is being felt on economy worldwide, here are some monetary terms to learn for the spellers:

(ebsta.com)

In 2017, the Scripps National Spelling Bee transitioned from the print version of the Merriam-Webster Third New International dictionary (which is also the CD ROM version) to the online Unabridged dictionary (unabridged.merriam-webster.com).

This blog post will discuss the differences between these two versions of the dictionaries so you are familiar with the changes.

Pronunciation of Words

There are some slight differences in pronunciation between the two versions of the dictionary. Some examples are:

Word	Print/CD Dictionary	Online Dictionary
mattock	mad.ǝk, -atǝk	ˈmatək, -atək
tare	ta(a)](ǝ)r, ‘te], ]ǝ	ˈter
flair	fla(a)](ǝ)r, ‘fle], ]ǝ	ˈfler
square	skwa(a)](ǝ)r, -we], ]ǝ	ˈskwer
aerolithology	a(ǝ)(͵)rōli’thälǝjē	¦er-ə-li-¦thä-lə-jē
airbus	a(a)(ǝ)r͵bǝs	ˈer-ˌbəs
revert	rə̇’vǝr]t, rē’-, -vӛ], -vǝi], usu ]t+V	ri-ˈvərt
redress	rə̇’dres, rē’-	ri-ˈdres
steer	sti(ǝ)r, -iǝ	ˈstir
board	bō(ǝ)rd, -ȯ(ǝ)rd, -ōǝd, -ȯ(ǝ)d	ˈbȯrd
forth	fō(ǝ)rth, ‘fȯ(ǝ)rth, ‘fōǝth, ‘fȯ(ǝ)th	ˈfȯrth
coarse	kō(ǝ)rs, -ȯ(ǝ)rs, -ōǝs, -ȯ(ǝ)s	ˈkȯrs
panda	pandǝ, ‘paan-	ˈpan-də
forth	fō(ǝ)rth, ‘fȯ(ǝ)rth, ‘fōǝth, ‘fȯ(ǝ)th	ˈfȯrth
answer	an(t)sǝ(r), ‘aan-, ‘ain-, ‘ån-	ˈan(t)-sər

 

Note: While the print dictionary has the diacritical symbol /d./, the online dictionary has replace this with /t/.

 

Some words have different alternative pronunciations between the two dictionaries. Here are some of these words:

Word	Print/CD Dictionary	Online Dictionary
jacana	jakənə	jə-ˈkä-nə, ˌzhä-sə-ˈnäⁿ
chelator	kē͵lātǝ(r)	ˈkē-ˌlā-tər; kē-ˈlā-tər also chē-
sleazy	slēzē, -zi	ˈslē-zē also ˈslā-
archenteron	(‘)ärk.’entǝ͵rän	(ˈ)är-ˈken-tə-ˌrän, -rən
raptore	rap͵tō(ǝ)r	ˈrap-tər, -ˌtȯr
Aristotelian	¦arə̇stǝ¦tēlyǝn, ¦a͵ris-, -lēǝn also ¦er- or ǝ¦ris- or a¦ris-	¦a-rə-stə-¦tēl-yən
ctenophore	tenǝ͵fō(ǝ)r	ˈte-nə-ˌfȯr
om	ȯm	ˈōm, ˈȯm
flotsam	flätsǝm    -lōt-	ˈflät-səm
luxe	lǝks	ˈlu̇ks, ˈləks, ˈlüks
leopoldville	ˈlē-ə-ˌpōld-ˌvil	ˈlē-ə-ˌpōld-ˌvil, ˈlā-
crevalle	krǝ’valē, -lǝ, -lā	kri-ˈva-lē
aminophylline	ǝ͵mēnō’fi͵lēn, |amǝ͵nō’-; ͵amǝ’näfǝ͵-	ˌa-mə-ˈnä-fə-lən
leipzig	līpsi]g, -sē]	ˈlīp-sig, -sik

 

Spelling

Some words are spelled differently between both dictionaries, such as:

Print/CD Dictionary	Online Dictionary
amizilia	amazilia
bogsha	bogshah
vilnyus	vilnius

 

New Online Words

The online dictionary has a lot of new words that the print dictionary did not have. Scripps has asked a lot of these new online words in their bees, such as xylorimba, turducken, mizuna, and Beringia. In fact, a few of these new words were asked at the National Spelling Bee in 2017, such as arribada, clafouti, Bruneian, and bucatini.

 

SpellPundit is one of the only study resources that has completely incorporated all the spelling/pronunciation changes in the online dictionary. Our New Online Words Module has with over 4000 words for spellers to learn these words and test themselves.

A frequently asked question from any aspiring speller is “How do you know the correct pronunciation of a word?” The Merriam-Webster dictionary has a system of pronunciation symbols (also called diacritical marks or diacritics) that will tell you how to pronounce the word.  In any dictionary entry, the pronunciation symbols will be right next the spelling of the word.

(You can find a complete list of all Merriam-Webster pronunciation symbols at http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/info/pronsymbols.html ).

Learning all these symbols may be overwhelming for new spellers. In this post, we will break down this list of pronunciation symbols so you will become a master in reading diacritical marks!

Schwa (pronounced /shwä/): ə

One of the most common diacritics is the schwa, which looks like an upside-down e (ə). This is a neutral vowel sound, pronounced like “uh,” as in banana, circus, and collect. This is often the hardest sound for a speller to figure out because it can be spelled with any vowel: a, e, i, o, u, or even y.

Short Vowel Sounds: a, e, i, o, and u

Whenever there is a plain vowel with no marks on it, it is pronounced with a short sound.

Short vowel sounds:

a- “aa” sound as in had or cap

e- “eh” sound as in set or head

i- “ih” sound as in mitten or sip

Macron (pronounced /mā-ˌkrän/): ā, ē, ī, ō

A macron is a straight line ( ⁻ ) that is placed over a vowel. This symbol gives a vowel a long sound.

Long vowel sounds:

ā- “ay” sound as in day

ē- “ee” sound as in bead

ī– “ii” sound as in site

ō- “oh” sound as in snow

Diaeresis (also spelled dieresis, pronounced /dīˈerəsəs/):  ä and ü

A diaeresis is two dots (^..) that are placed on top of a vowel. A diaeresis is used when the vowel ‘a’ or ‘u’ are pronounced like they are “stretched out”.

ä- “ah” sound as in bother or cot

ü- “oo” sound as in moose or rule or shoe

In German words, these two dots can also be called an umlaut. An umlaut is used when a German vowel is pronounced like a mix of two vowel sounds. One example is the word kummel, which is pronounced /kiməi/. Notice how the letter ‘u’ in kummel is pronounced like a short ‘i,’ that’s how an umlaut works.

Stress Symbols: ‘ and ,

Stress symbols tell you which syllable of the word has the most stress, or emphasis. If a syllable is stressed, that means you put some extra force or pressure as you say that syllable. Stressed syllables are pronounced slightly louder and longer than unstressed syllables.

The diacritical mark (‘) indicates primary stress. This means that you put the most stress, or emphasis, on the syllable that comes right after this mark.

The diacritical mark (,) indicates secondary stress. This means that the syllable after this sound also has some stress, but it is not as much as the primary stress.

Stress on the word can make all the difference in what it means. For example, the word “present” can have two different meanings depending on where you put the stress.

Additional Symbols:

ŋ- “ng” sound as in sing

au̇- “ow” sound as in out

ȯi- “oy” sound as in boy                                                                  

Now let’s take a mini-test! Read the pronunciations and try to guess what the word is.

jəˈra|f

də-ˈmä-krə-sē

nash-nəl

By learning how to read pronunciation symbols, you can learn how to correctly pronounce every word in the dictionary, which will help you in spelling bees. With some experience, you will be able to read these pronunciation symbols so quickly that they will become like a second language, and you will be able to practice words faster.

Please send your questions to spellpundit@gmail.com.