Original subtitles

Champion Spellers, we are now in uncharted territory.

We're throwing the dictionary at you. And so far, you are showing this

dictionary who is boss.

We've now reached the start of round 20. The round I informed you would be the

final one of this competition.

When we get to the end of round 20, we will take an extraordinary step.

of declaring as co -champions those of you still remaining in the competition.

of the 2019 Strip National Spelling Bee.

They will forever be remembered as the elite eight.

The eight spellers that for three and a half hours took the best punch the

dictionary had to throw at them. And this is the night that the kids love the

spelling bee.

And there you have it. It puts it on the front page of every newspaper and

website.

Spelling bees are a time -honored American tradition, and the Scripps

Spelling Bee is the most prestigious contest in the country.

South Asian American kids are dominating the Scripps National Spelling Bee. I

think people are curious about, like, do they have a secret? Is there something

that they're genetically predisposed to knowing? The most phenomenal assemblage

of super spellers. Meet the kids who exhausted the dictionary itself.

The Octo Champs, ladies and gentlemen.

What kind of a name is Aaron?

Since 2008, a decade of dominance.

We rival the Yankees, the Dallas Cowboys, Celtics, Lakers, Indian

in spelling. Like, we're in that.

When we find something that works, we go all in.

Something clearly is going on that needs to be better understood.

International Society of People with High IQs has two new members.

They're children.

Three -year -old Akash Bukodi and five -year -old Amrita Bukodi have been

accepted into the American Mensa. Welcome to Little Bitch Shop. You have

seen kids like the ones who are coming out here today.

Kana Sewer.

S -E -W -E -R.

The kids getting the big buzz after spelling B. A six -year -old making

as the first first grader ever in the competition.

Inviscate.

I -N -V -I -S -C -A -T

-E. Inviscate. That is correct.

Funny story, first my uncle, one of my uncles, was feeding me something like a

type of rice thingy, and then he showed a spoon, told me to spell spoon.

I said, S -P -O -O -S.

So the next day, the same uncle came to me and said to spell spoon again.

I spelled S -P -O -O -N.

That was not normal for, you know, for a two, just two years old kid to...

spell it back in the same sequence, in the same order of the alphabet.

That was the first time when we noticed that, oh, he has something into the

spelling. That's when my parents saw that first interest.

First interest.

Who are the spelling bee champions?

I am.

I came from a rural village in India. If I didn't dream high, I wouldn't be

coming to America.

A kid who was born here in America should do a lot more.

The goal for Akash would be to be a good citizen.

So whatever he does, whatever he learns, it should benefit the community, the

country, the world. Something like Microsoft, for example, or the Google,

Facebook. It should be something like that. That should change the lives of

people. around the world we don't know i mean if it happens we would be really

blessed one of the myths i think that people have about indian americans and

their success is that it's somehow genetic or even ethnic so what happened

the united states the indians who do well in spelling bees in america are

from indians who were very adventurous who decided to take advantage of the

relaxation of American immigration rules in 1965.

This bill says simply that from this day forth, those wishing to immigrate to

America shall be admitted on the basis of their skills and their close

relationships to those already here. This is a simple test, and it is a fair

test. Those who can contribute most to this country, to its growth, to its

strength, to its spirit, will be the first that are admitted to this land

stopped the relatively racist quotas on who could immigrate from where other

parts of the world and it allowed for immigrants to come in from asia africa

caribbean parts of the world that had been oftentimes cut off it wasn't like

every south asian was allowed in they picked people who were the most educated

who could add a very clear like monetary value and serve a clear purpose for

America and its economy. And Indians take advantage of this, but mostly they

engineers, doctors.

One of the interesting things to notice is how many Indian doctors you'll find

in very remote parts of America. And you see them in rural Alabama or

Mississippi or Louisiana. And you ask yourself, why was there an Indian doctor

in one of these places? Because no...

White person wanted to go to rural Alabama and be a doctor. And those were

job openings that the Indians filled.

And then, of course, in the 80s and really mushrooming in the 90s and since

has been the growth of the IT industry. There wasn't conflict.

There wasn't persecution or prosecution.

They weren't fleeing.

It was all really revolved around possibility.

So I don't think it's this magical Indian cultural superiority stuff I hear

the time. A portion of the story is culture, but a large portion is how

got here. In addition to, like, you know, India is a colonized country.

English was around.

They come to the United States. They get trained, or they go to companies. They

do well.

Now they have children.

and they want to ensure that their children take advantage of these

extraordinary opportunities that they see in America as immigrants.

My parents came for opportunity.

There was a lot of emphasis on language growing up inside the house, and English

was extremely stressed.

I think a lot of my interest in spelling came because of that early exposure to

English through my mom and somewhat my dad. It took a solid four years for me

get from start to finish in my National Spelling Bee win pursuit, and then

eventually in 1985 was able to win.

It was his third try at the

National Spelling Bee, third time's the charm.

for him this year no bell will be i don't think i recognize the

magnitude of that probably until decades later and when i realized how

relevant it was that the son of immigrants had won the national spelling

when i saw other immigrants primarily indian parents say that it

was 1985 that put the national spelling bee on the map for

Indians. And so while I never pretended that it was a big deal, other people

informed me that it was a big deal to them.

Playing tennis and spelling are pretty similar because it takes persistence

because the first time you go to a match or a spelling bee you might not win

because the more you practice the better you get and then you can just get

better and better and then eventually you just everything will fall into place

and maybe you win.

Well I've been doing this for many years. I started when I was in second

and every year I've

constantly improves, so hopefully that this year will be the year.

We are originally from India. India has lots of languages, so I think that

bilingual concept helped them learn a lot of other languages too. There is an

expectation that he will do well and probably win.

But also, I think he kind of used to the pressure.

And also, it's not like a random guess.

He has proven himself that he could win other competitions.

So that gives him the confidence. I think he doesn't feel that pressure so

How good is he really?

He's really good.

I mean, when I was still in eighth grade, I would say we were about equal.

since then, he's kept on going. I want to say he is probably the best feller in

the world.

He's like Michael Jordan.

Obviously. Michael Jordan, yeah.

Michael Jordan is just like consistently the best player in the league when he

was playing. And I think Shirov is like consistently the best speller in the

school and probably like in the state and maybe probably even the nation.

By the time she was two, two and a half, she was already good at solving

puzzles. And she was asking for more. And she was able to recognize some of

letters. And by the time she was three, she was able to read the smaller books,

books with a few words in each sentence.

So we did not think of it as a talent. We thought it was a normal thing that

kids do.

So we just continued feeding her with more and more whatever she was

with. Basically, it started a really long time ago when I was about five.

I was in an art competition.

because i was kind of into art at that time and in the next room they had a

spelling bee since i was really young they just let me in randomly they didn't

really think i was going to do any good or anything so they're just like yeah

sure you can do it i go there i take the test and i come third out of first

through eighth graders and then my parents are just like something's up

my brother Bharat

He is very focused and he has set very high goals for himself.

So the same thing I observe in Ashita.

Ashita has a great influence on the younger kids and also on the people way

in my hometown.

As Ashita was getting through each year, trying to get through scrapes, people

came to know that, okay, this is what is happening.

During the competitions, we make sure that we are calling her.

Every day because it's not very easy to spell on the stage where millions of

people are watching her Whatever may be the result.

We always love her and encourage her

The

first time I thought I want to win the scripts

B was

in fourth grade because I'd lost the county bee that year placing second and

then I contemplated my reasons for continuing because I was obviously

and then that same year I watched the national spelling bee and I saw Arvin

and I really wanted to be in that spotlight and I wanted to hoist that

over my head and so that's where it started.

I was so happy that there is a chance exist to entertain this kid in an area

that he is interested in. At the same time, instill the habits which will

actually come and live with him for later in his life. The benefit of hard

the work ethic and all this stuff. So I was really, really happy.

inherent nature that you know such being curious to a different subject maybe

medicine to dance to you call it the different ones he's curious this

is what comes to my mind is which is very unique to him really it makes makes

all proud and especially i feel proud and that's where it gives an inspiration

to my kid he looks up onto him as my brother and he takes a lot of

from him So someone like, you know, when you see someone on the TV, especially

in the big platform like YouTube or be on a, like, you know, the ESPN.

Mike's son, he loves to watch for hours and hours.

And naturally, I see that the longer he watches those videos, he's getting more

inspired by him.

L, elegiacal.

Script's already.

1988 National Spelling Bee Champion from the Sacramento Bee, Lagashri

Ramachandra.

I think those who didn't have someone to look up to, we can legitimately call

trailblazers. As I recall, I think it was 1983. We have a picture at home.

are six of us. All six of us accounted for the entire Indian contingent in the

1983 National Spelling Bee.

That was it, just six out of 137, I think. In the Scripps Spelling Bee in

early 90s when I was there, I recall seeing a few Indian American students,

certainly South Asian American students. It wasn't something that felt like

normal that there was a ton.

At the time, I think my eight - or nine -year -old brother was the first time I

realized just potentially how big spelling bees were.

within this community. He was eight years old and he was talking about it in

these referential terms that made me believe that this was something that he

really motivated by.

It all changed in 1994 when ESPN first began broadcasting The Bee because all

a sudden, not only could you read about it in your newspaper, but you could just

easily watch it on television.

Definitely a much bigger buzz for us. It was really cool. I mean, I was a huge

basketball fan by that time. You know, I was wearing like a Bulls cap at one of

the picnics.

And they would ask me, like, who's your favorite players? I was like, oh,

Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan. I'm a sports guy. I like to watch sports. And

I remember watching it on ESPN. And I thought, they're showing a spelling bee

ESPN. I mean, Indian kids have arrived, finally, you know, with regard to

sports. Because, you know, sports was not an area where they were excelling as

much. But spelling was on ESPN. So, hey, it's pretty much the same thing, right?

I remember at that point, I thought to myself, something's happening here.

The definition is, it's a lung disease, that's why it's

cis, O -cis ending, which is caused by

inhaling ash, sand, dust, etc.

Okay, the word is 45 letters, okay, so don't be surprised on this.

It should mean for the month.

Ready, set, spell.

P -N -E -U -M -O -N -O -U -L -T -R -A -M -I -C -R -O

-S -C -O -P -I -C -S -I -L -I -C -O -V -O -L -C -A -N -O

-C -O -N -I -O -S -I -S.

Yeah, I think the word just filled up the entire screen.

Akash Vakodi, I think, burst onto the scene as being this phenomenon.

He's so young, and yet he's so...

poised and so competent and so gifted at spelling in a way that kids who are

six i've never seen a child spell it's fun to get all the attention i'm not

really jealous of him i'm just glad that he has all that media attention he kind

of keeps me in it too which doesn't make me feel left out and if i'm not left

out that doesn't really make me feel jealous

So last year, Akash was the re -nurse spelling bee champion.

How do I win the Scripps Nurse for Spelling Bee?

The way to win the bee is simply 90 % hard work,

10 % other.

So this is our database of words.

The dictionary has about 475 ,000 words. And what we realized is we can condense

that 475 ,000 words into about 125 ,000 words by simply removing

the extension.

So for example, if you know sleep, sleeping is not required.

So if you know these base words, you can construct any of the remaining words in

the dictionary.

Probably like 98 to 99 percent. That's how much accuracy you need.

We haven't seen a word which came outside this dictionary for the last

years. If someone really masters this database, there is a very, very high

probability that they can win any competition, including the script

bee.

T -I -E -R -C -E -E.

The language of origin is French. Yeah.

So does that change your ending? No.

What did you say again? T -I -E -R -C -E -E.

It's T -I -E -R -C -E with that accent.

My expectations for Tejas is like win the trophy because he has put in a lot

hard work. It's been six years.

penance for him. So he has been putting in a lot of hours, putting in a lot of

energy into it. He's putting a lot of his emotions and feel into it. You can't

be a champion just by putting an hour a day. Whether it's in sports or

in spelling, you have to put in the effort. And what you see time and time

is people who have more or less devoted their whole lives to spelling.

become Spelling Bee champions, and I think that really is a testament to the

benefits of hard work.

This is the gateway to get into Scripps National Spelling Bee. I'm feeling

excited and nervous at the same time. They just have won this regional

competition thrice. Oh my gosh, I'm always a nervous wreck.

Always, always. I'm confident in his ability, but spelling bees, it's the

of the draw. One word can do it, and hopefully he'll have good words today

do well.

And welcome to the 43rd Annual Richmond Times Dispatch Regional Spelling Bee.

Thank you for joining us today. Judges, are we ready?

Mantea. M -A -N -T -E -A, Mantea.

Matic.

I -C -K, Matic.

P -U.

R -G -A.

Perga. All right. This is the start of

round 11.

Campodiaform.

Campodiaform. C -A -M -P -O

-D -I -U -F -O -R -M.

Alma mater.

M -A -T -E -R.

Alma mater.

Okay, you'll now have to spell one additional word.

Florilegium.

Florilegium. Definition, please.

A volume or collection of brief extracts or writings.

An anthology.

Florilegium. Are there any alternate pronunciations?

There are not.

Florilegium. F -L -O...

R -I -L -E -G -I -U -M.

Laura Legium. Okay. We have our champion.

Wow.

Congratulations to all of our spellers. They're all champions.

I'm really happy that I managed to pull it off and I'm really excited that I get

to go back to the National Spelling Bee for my last year and I'm just ready to

work really hard for it.

I don't really enjoy attention that much.

Whenever people compliment me I take the compliment and I thank them but within

me I kind of say I don't deserve it because I haven't gotten the ultimate

yet.

Loggeria, may I have a sentence, please?

The patient's loggeria was indicative of deep emotional problems.

I had grown up in North Carolina and had moved to Florida, and I'd

never been in settings where I didn't feel distinctly different.

For having my name, for looking the way I did, rather unusual to be somebody who

went home and did her homework instead of hanging out after school.

Where I was really inspired was seeing a list of the kids who were finalists in

1997 and seeing at that point that it was a majority of Indian spellers. And

as an Indian student, this felt like an arena in which I could compete and be

successful. C -O -R -O -L -L -A -R -Y.

In the 1999 Scripps National Finals, there were four kids of Indian origin,

and so seeing so many Indian spellers at Scripps gave me a sense of comfort and

a sense of belonging, and also it was the first time in my life that I didn't

feel extremely different.

Loguria. L -O -G -O -R -R -H -E -A.

That is correct.

Once Nupur Lala won the 1999 Scripps National Spelling Bee, and it was

via the film Spellbound, it really raised awareness to the entire community

about this being a niche in which Indian American kids can excel.

Have you seen the movie Spellbound?

Oh, my God. Every time she has a major spelling bee or anything like that, we

have, yeah.

These are, I think, we watch it, like, very often.

All the time. There's three tips I have for other spellers. One, trust in Jesus.

Trust and believe in Jesus.

Two,

honoring your parents.

And three, hard work.

I love that. He is so like, I spell.

I'm dominant in it. My parents all about it. Respect your parents. Trust Jesus.

He trusted Jesus all the way to first place.

C -H.

E -D -M -O -T. We have won.

Success seemed attainable. It seemed achievable because you had watched other

Indian Americans do it. And I think that often when you have something like that

in the community where people can imagine the success, it's tangible, it's

abstract. They go for it and they work hard for it. And so the success has then

bred success and led to even greater success.

E -M -E -N.

T, rapprochement. Correct. Indian American students have two other Bs that

specifically designed for them to foster the competition that they have amongst

themselves and to get better at spelling in front of a group and to collaborate

with their peers on how to study and for the parents to get together and talk

about what's working and what's not working.

When I heard that they were doing it, I was like, of course they're doing it.

This is how it's done in the Indian American community. Let's raise the

and let's see what happens.

I think only when this minor league circuit of the South Asian... spelling

and the North -South Foundation spelling bee, which has been in effect for over

20 years, I believe, that you really see these kids hone their craft to a level

that you didn't otherwise see before that.

A lot of the families approach these bees as practice rounds, if you will,

the big script spelling bee.

Run in.

Good. Around.

And here it comes. Three more.

Results are important, but we have to ignore the results and concentrate on

process. Enjoy the process. The results will come on their own. I'm telling

Ashita, whatever is the outcome, we don't have so many expectations or

It's fine with us.

You just do your best.

We want her.

To be relaxed. As relaxed as she can.

Ashrita, like when she is relaxed, she can spell very tough words. She does

better.

So basically what we do is my mom or dad makes a list of words and then I just

go over them and they just keep quizzing me until I get all of them right.

What's the definition?

A cheese -flavored cream sauce.

M -O -R -N -A -Y.

Yeah, good.

Good job.

We mostly keep this as a secret, but... It's only we are sharing this database

because this is our last year, and so far we have kept this as a family trade

secret. And that gives Shara a competitive advantage, the way he

So, yeah, we haven't shared with anybody else so far.

As always, I'm kind of nervous because...

It's my last year, so there's really no room for error, but I'm also pretty

confident that I'll do pretty good, so we'll just see how it goes.

The biggest spelling event in Texas starts right now. Welcome to the 2017

Houston Public Media Spelling Bee. We're here today with 56 finalists.

At the end of our V, only two will be going to the Scripps National Spelling

in Washington, D .C., where they'll compete to find out who is our nation's

speller. The word is capsule.

Capsule. May I have the definition?

The word is gloaming.

G -L -O -A -M -I -N -G.

Gloaming. That is correct.

Promogeniture.

Inhinga.

Billy Rubin.

Echolalia. That is correct.

A crescent. That's correct.

Manganao.

Wow, what a difficult B we have been fighting so far. If my count is right,

we're down to just four spellers. The word is gamipedalus.

A -L -O -U -S.

Gamipedalus.

L -O -B -A -R -G -E -L -O. That is correct.

I -O -N -A -P -I -L -I -O -N. That's correct.

E -T -SIL -SA. That's correct.

That's correct. That's correct. That's correct. The word is bardilio.

B -A -R -D -I -L -L -O, bardilio.

The word is switerion.

I -O -N, switerion.

The word is promislinic.

Promislinic can have the definition, can have the language of origin, can have

the sentence.

Promislinic.

P -R -O -M -Y.

Oh, wait. Can I start over?

Can you repeat the word one more time?

Promishlenik. Promishlenik.

P -R -O -M -Y -S -H -L -E

-N -N -I -K.

Promishlenik. That is correct.

Nicely done.

Shurab, don't go anywhere.

He has spelled the word correctly in his round. There's nobody else in his round

to compete against, so he goes on to a championship word. If he gets this

correct, then he is our champion.

If not, the beat continues.

Here we go. The word is refresh -a -swar.

Refresh -a -swar, R -A -F -R -A -I -C -H -I -S -S -O -I -O.

I guess he was pretty proud of that spelling.

I just won the Houston Public Media Regional Spelling Bee, and I'm feeling

pretty good about it.

I just knew it off the top of my head, and I'm just like, why not just get it

over with right then and there? So I just spelled it, like, in two seconds

We expected him to win, and he won in that sense.

It's a good turnout.

Yeah, it's an expected outcome.

I'm just really happy and really...

Proud, I guess, just to be going back and representing Houston again.

I was talking with a past champion and, of course, asked her the most obvious

question, why do you think so many Indians win the Bees? And she said, for

one of the key reasons is that languages is something that her family and

herself just know so much about.

Her parents were fluent in five languages.

And while that's a lot, being multilingual...

It's commonplace.

And the familiarity of language, the ability to communicate so fluently

multiple languages, helps the kids in their minds grasp words, grasp spelling,

grasp language, its nuances, its etymologies, and that helps them

B.

Akash can fluently rewrite three languages, mother tongue English, mother

Telugu, and then...

Hindi, which is India's national language. So he's fluent in three

Yeah, he can read and write. Yeah, and he is really looking into learning other

languages like, you know, German or Hebrew or Korean.

To be a winner, you probably need to master 60 to 100 ,000 words.

You also need to understand patterns from different languages.

You need to study old Bs. And one of the things we haven't talked about is

you've got to be able to stand on stage and think on your feet and present these

words without getting distracted or getting flustered and think through what

word means. And you've got a limited time clock to do this. It's a huge

of work. Most of these students spend one to two hours a day all week, every

week, and then more on the weekends. And they do this for years leading up to

the National Bee.

Some of these students start on this as young as three and four years old in

some of these families. These kids have put more time into spelling by the time

they're 13 than most of us put into anything our entire lives. The popular

misconception of these families is that they are quote -unquote tiger parents

who are drilling their kids, forcing them to study against their will. And

else can you explain why so many Indian children are excelling in this one

particular niche? To be honest, when children are young, parents do typically

enroll their kids.

and a spelling bee or some other academic competition the same way that

enroll their children into basketball or swimming without asking their kids

permission, hoping that their kids will like it and get good at something.

But the kids don't stick with it unless they like it. And the parents don't

force their kids to become spellers unless the kids find some internal drive

it. The spelling bee was something that I wanted to do. I didn't get intense

pressure from home to do it. In fact, after losing out in 1984 in the National

Spelling Bee, my parents said, do you really want to do this again?

And I thought about it and I said, yes, I do want to pursue it again.

This is a metaphor for something else. It's a metaphor for success.

It's a metaphor for I have achieved something and received recognition

own community. And the motivations would be the same as anything else in life.

Let's begin round one of the Cody spelling.

Let's go.

Number one.

When you watch the B, the first thing you think of is it's a family affair

throughout the whole process.

A comedy.

A -C -C -O -M -M -O -D -A -T, comedy. Good

job. When a parent devotes a lot of time to coaching a student through a

spelling competition, the siblings are there. They're listening to it, they're

learning it, they're picking it up, and there's usually some competition among

the siblings.

Their parents have already figured out by the time you get to the second

how to help that speller learn and practice in a much more refined and

way. When the older one won the district spelling, the younger one, who's three

years younger than him, wrote down every word correctly in the District B that

everybody got.

So, you know, he's in second grade.

I got into it in second grade,

and that was when Shobo was in fourth grade. So we had just really started

year, because, like, that was the year that Shobo won her first school spelling

bee. So then my parents just started helping her from there. Initially...

We thought he would be a good pronouncer because some of the words we were not

able to pronounce the way Shobha wanted.

So we recruited him as a pronouncer to Shobha, and then he realized that, oh, I

can just not be the pronouncer. I can be the best speller too, and I can beat my

sister too. I think that's how it started, and after that he took off.

We were really competitive with each other.

But it was kind of, like, a balance. Like, we'd be really competitive at a B,

and we wouldn't, like, talk to each other and that kind of thing. Or I would

talk to him, but he wouldn't talk to me.

And then once we got home, it was fine, though. We'd sit in the game room and

play video games and, like, that kind of thing.

I don't think there was ever a moment where he, like, questioned why he was

doing it. He just knew he wanted to win, and so he, like, he just went for it.

And I really admire that about him.

I've been doing it for such a long time, and it's something that I, like, really

enjoy.

to be like the best at it that would be like a really surreal experience

now

i'll research more things about this i just like going to wikipedia and reading

about stuff because i like reading i can connect this to spelling in a way

because

Haley, yeah, blah, blah, blah, which is a scientific name for a bald eagle. It

actually comes from the Greek haley, meaning sea, aidos, meaning eagle,

meaning white, encephalos, meaning head, and they all squish it together.

So I just want to do further research into that.

If I see a new word, like in school, maybe, maybe one day my teacher uses the

word finagle.

I'm just like, what does finagle mean? And I look it up, and maybe in the word

finagle, I see the word persiflor.

Then maybe I'll research that.

And then maybe in that entry, I find a different word. And in that entry, I

a different word. And I research all of them, and then that's how I expand my

vocab.

Are you excited for tomorrow?

Yeah, I'm really excited, but I'm also kind of nervous at the same time.

I want you to go through one more time all the etymology things, okay?

Yep. You got an SL word in this list. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, okay. Should we

it?

Long ear and a plural noun spelled A -E as in algae,

larvae, wait, larvae, and A -E. So you know all these word spellings,

right? Yes or no?

So can I go to next page?

Cirrhosis. Your words.

C -I.

R -R -H -O -S -I -S. Good job.

If at all, Akash continues his interest in the spelling in the same way like

what he has now.

We expect him to win the national spelling bee title like in three to four

by sixth grade. If he can become the national champion, he'll be blessed and

of us would be blessed.

Contestants, if you will please rise. We're going to say the Pledge of

Allegiance before we get started.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

All right, we all set?

Let's roll.

Stucco. S -T -U -C -O.

Collage.

Collage.

Are there any other alternate pronunciations, please?

May I have the language of origin, please? May I have the definition,

May I have the sentence, please?

Akash spent weeks finishing a large collage of a Paris street scene.

C -O -L -L -A -G -E.

Collage. D -O -G -M -A.

Dogma. Hello.

H -A -L -A -L. Hello.

T -R...

And then there were four.

The final four.

This

word

has a homonym.

The word is borders.

It is a noun, and it's people who are provided with regular meals or regular

meals and lodging.

May I have the alternate pronunciations, please?

There are none.

May I have the language of origin, please?

This word consists of two originally English parts.

Can you please repeat the word again?

Borders. Borders.

B -O...

Good luck to all my fellow Spellers.

I hope I'll come back next year.

He's still young, and he has a lot of years. He might learn some new

words. I've heard of that word before, but I've heard it many times when I was

older. Because when I was his age, I had no idea what that word is.

The question over there was, who would be

going to Washington, D .C., representing our region? That was the only question

over there. You may or may not be the regional champion, but you're already

school champion, and on the way to prepare for this spelling bee, you

your knowledge. So that's the purpose of... why the Scripps National Spelling

Bee is there.

And we are on the way. One day, you may get the National Spelling Bee trophy.

So that's what we say. He understood it. You can see a smile on his face now.

That was only for a brief time, and that's very quite natural for a kid.

If it isn't obvious yet, I love the Spelling Bee.

Or as I like to call it, the Indian Super Bowl.

Six winners in a row! Six in a row, son!

That's incredible!

So it gives me great pleasure to finally say, hey white people, learn the

language.

Writing that piece, I got to put together all the reasons I loved it.

Like here was something that we were dominant in that had never been seen

before. And it's spelling.

But of course the internet would not let me enjoy this completely.

One patriot tweeted, America has to step it up with our spelling game. Last

three remaining, all of Indian descent.

First of all, these kids of Indian descent are also American.

Secondly, you spelled descent wrong.

The kid who won that year was Arvind Mahankali, who was from Queens.

It was a big deal to me, both as a Queens resident and as an Indian

These kids are amazing, and they know it. I mean, look how cool Arvind is

winning the title.

Oh gee, that is so gee.

Little Holy didn't even care that he won.

He looks like he's still waiting for the next word.

And I'm like, why can't we celebrate that?

Why can't we celebrate the fact that this kid did something and he did it in

such a cool way.

He reached the mountaintop of that particular sport.

So yeah, I wanted to celebrate that and luckily I got to do that in a very

ridiculous way.

For those of us who are not in the bees, when we see online the racist or

xenophobic comments critiquing Indians who win, it's very disparaging and it's

very disheartening. And we worry about the families and, of course, about the

kids themselves.

When you have an activity that's so explicitly branded as a quintessentially

American contest, the idea of who gets to be named as an American and who is...

considered a legitimate champion in that arena is really coded still by

whiteness. And there's a real emphasis on America ultimately remaining a white

country. I dread the day when a quote unquote somebody else wins a spelling

because it's going to make me sad the kind of commentary that comes out of

And it's the kind of commentary about taking something back that.

It is endemic to so much of our national debate right now in such a misguided

way. For years, our representation was dictated by other people. We were forced

to play convenience store owners or we were forced to play cab drivers.

There's a limited range of representation.

Film and TV, especially when you're such a small minority, affect how the whole

country or the whole world views you.

And these kids, they earn their way on television by succeeding.

Only in New York City could a child of Indian immigrants who speaks Spanish and

Telugu compete for a trophy named for a British -American newspaper publisher

and win the competition for spelling a Yiddish word.

I've actually been kvelling all day. Do you know how to spell kvelling? Yeah, I

figured.

E -C -O -M -O -R -P -H -I -D -A -E.

Correct.

K -A -Z -U -B -R -O -T -A.

This is my lucky purple rock.

His fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Gribben, she has given him that rock.

We keep it in here just to keep it really safe because when I'm spelling, I

don't feel as confident when I'm not carrying this rock, so I always ensure

it's safe and sound.

They're treated like diamonds at my household, especially during bee season.

I know I might not really show it, but I'm just like, I can't describe it in

words. I'm that excited.

A few years ago when I was in first grade, all I did was win my school and I

participated in the regionals. Now I'm actually going to the Scripps. I mean,

that feeling is just great for me.

We have been waiting for this the past two years. Now it finally came through.

Oh, we heard so many exciting things about the B -Week. We're really, really,

really excited to go and be there. Like, you know, my kid is going to be there

on the ESPN.

So I can't just like, yeah. My goal, I'm studying really hard to be at least in

the top 50, but I'm not expecting to do better than that because I just really

want to be in the top 50. I mean, that's all I want to do this year.

Scripps' National Spelling Bee is in 10 days, so Shorow is almost

done with the reviewing.

Now, these 10 days, he would go through the dictionary words one more time.

It's kind of surreal, I guess, because I've been doing it for so long. It's

like, I only have 10 more days, and then I'm done with it. So it's just kind of

like, just do all you can, because...

In 10 days you'll be done with it so you don't have to worry about it anymore.

I just have like a few words here and there that I don't know so I think I'm

pretty confident that whatever happens and I'll just be happy with it.

So these are diacritical marks and that's how like the pronouncers at

Bees read the words off the list that they have. That's how I also read the

words for the database. I just see the diacriticals and I can read it like a

second language and then i i type it usually if it's a word that i'm like 100

confident about i can like while i'm typing it i can just look at the next

so that's how it can go so fast after like years of doing it it just kind of

becomes second nature so i'm about to just type and see how many words i can

type in a minute if i just go as fast as i can so three

two one

Yeah, so that's... I just finished the one minute and I did 45 words in that

minute. Saying it out loud takes like probably five to ten seconds. Typing a

word takes like two seconds, two to three seconds. So it's just, it just

faster for the same effect. So I think typing is like the better way.

We have like a root word document, and I study 100 root words, and I take a two

-minute break, and then I study another 100, take a two -minute break.

But I'm just trying to study as much as I can without cramming. She's studied

well. She has worked hard for the whole year. All she can do is do her best, and

I'm sure she'll do her best.

My plan is just to study for confidence, so I can go on stage thinking, okay,

I've studied all the words I can. Now it's just... up to the word I get and up

to my stage performance.

It's not exactly religious, but we follow a scripture called Bhagavad Gita

it says, do your duty. There are so many things out of your control and don't

focus on the results.

And that's something we have always been telling Tejas, not just for spelling,

but for his life. I mean, for his studies, for his academics, for his job.

think he'll be looking forward to find his new adventure and move on to his new

interests.

i'm pretty relaxed i'd have to say but there's always like a bit of nerves

involved but i think i've been here like four times before five including now so

i think i'm pretty familiar with everything so i think i'm just relaxed

ready to go i think

Saurav has a winning chance of about 90%. We are going with the hope that he

would be the champion. But if there is any one or two percent chance of not

getting the championship, that is fine because it is another year.

We are now ready to begin round two of the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee

presented by Kindle. Speller number one, Naomi Zarin, you may approach the

microphone. Hi, Naomi.

Hi. Your word is palataya.

Palataya. Can I have the definition?

Your word is embezzlement.

Embezzlement. Can I have the language of origin? W -O -V -U -L -A -T -O -R.

Wobulator.

Wobulator.

Slang anomalous.

Ah. Lambdicism.

Lambdicism. Lambdicism.

Lambdicism.

Savoyard. Or Savoyard.

Or Savoyard.

Or Savoyard.

Could you please repeat the word?

Philippendulous. O -U -S.

Philippendulous. Correct.

A -R -B -I -R. Correct.

Titian. Correct.

A -I -N, cadorthine.

Correct.

L -I -C, anabolic.

Correct. I -U -M, scandium. Correct.

Nixinasty. Correct.

Correct.

Anarobe. B -E, anarobe. That's correct.

Truncate. Correct.

Gloviator. Correct.

Fortunery. Correct.

Repudiate. Could you please sing it in a song?

You don't want to hear that.

Normative. Correct.

Radical. Correct.

S -I -V -E.

Derisive. Correct.

Look, Dr. Rayleigh, you're going to really need to come through for me right

now, okay?

Collegiality. Correct.

concludes round three and the preliminaries of the 2017 Scripps

Spelling Bee presented by Kindle.

Here are your 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee finalists. From Huntsville,

Alabama, speller 36, Aaron Howard.

From North Andover, Massachusetts, speller number 214, Ashrita Gandahari.

From St.

John's, Florida, speller number 167, Srinakhet Vagoti.

A face you've seen before. From Glen Allen, Virginia, number 143, Tejas

Muthasamy.

From Bainbridge, New York, speller number 9, Melody Loya.

From Spring, Texas, number 254, Sharav Dasari.

I know they're excited at Fugman Elementary in Fresno, California for

number 264, Ananya Vinay.

And our final finalists for 2017, from Edmond, Oklahoma, number 235, Rohan

Rajiv.

Once again, everyone, all of these young spellers are our 2017 Scripps National

Spelling Bee finalists.

Congratulations, you guys. Great job.

That standing ovation is for you.

The one thing you notice about Thursday morning is The level of difficulty,

completely different from what we witnessed on Wednesday.

Hi, Melody.

Hi. Should we do this?

No.

Purlieu or Purlue.

Purlieu. P -U -R -L -I -E -U.

Purlieu. Correct.

Alopecia. Are there any alternate pronunciations?

Desmond. D -E -S -M -O -N -D. Desmond.

Chris Elephantine.

T -I -N -E.

Chris Elephantine.

That is correct.

G -O -U -S.

Aris Nothingen. Correct.

Thank you.

Hi, Ashrita.

Elidable. Elidable.

Elidable. Could I have the definition?

Capable of being passed over or suppressed.

Could I have the language of origin?

It's made up of originally Latin parts.

Elidable. Elidable.

Elidable.

Elidable. I -L -L -I -D -A -B

-L -E. Elidable.

Elidable is spelled E -L -I -D -I -B -L -E.

Thank you.

Okay, so I misspelled a word up there. I feel like I really overcomplicated it.

I didn't really get really set over it because I had like four more years.

I did really good. I did my best, and I don't really mind.

We are extremely proud of my daughter's achievement. She made it so far.

We are definitely going to come back next year.

For the first -timer, for a fourth -grader, tying for a 40th spot is more

what we expected her to do this year. So she did an awesome job.

The competition is not so much about this kid on stage versus this kid.

It's this kid versus a dictionary of a half a million words.

At that point, I want to go up there and give them a high five and be like,

yeah, you kicked butt here to get here. People worry about competition. They

don't want to keep score in anything intellectual in the U .S. We keep score

sports, but nothing intellectual.

Here we can keep score intellectually and realize that it doesn't put down

somebody just because one person wins.

It's a celebration of learning.

Artead. A -R -T -I -A -D.

That is correct.

Rousset. R -U -C -E -T -T -E.

Wereson. Wereson. Do you have the spelling, please?

Almost got me.

I don't know if I can ask this, but does this contain the French word boudin,

meaning sausage?

Yes.

Boudinage. B -O -U -D -I -N

-A -G -E. Boudinage. Correct.

Corridale.

Corridale. May I please have the definition?

A member of a breed of rather large, usually hornless sheep developed in New

Zealand from several different breeds.

Corydale.

C -O -R -E

-Y -D -A -L -E.

Corydale.

Corydale is spelled C -O -R -R -I -E -D -A -L -E.

Virmal. E -N.

Correct. Correct.

Correct.

Correct.

Correct. Correct. Correct. Correct. Correct. Correct. Correct. Thank you.

concludes round seven.

Spellers, you're going to be on ESPN tonight.

Congratulations, Spellers.

I'm just really excited since it's something that I've been working hard

a long time. I just finally get to be a part of the night finals on ESPN.

I'm going to brag to my friends I'm going to be on ESPN. I don't need to be

athlete or anything.

What I loved about Sharaab is that there was...

There was flavor to the whole thing. And there's nothing wrong with having that

type of flavor. I mean, when you're wearing the lucky Nike hoodie that's

you through this whole thing, he's on stage and halfway through the word, he

starts to have that little smile like he knew. He knew it was a big event and he

was confident. It also separated him from other people because each time up,

you're like, all right, where's the guy? Where's the guy in the hoodie?

Where's your Rob?

And I think that was a cool element to have in the program.

It worked really well. I definitely got words that I knew or was able to derive.

In each round, there's probably one or two words that I didn't recognize at

first that other people got, and so I would consider myself pretty lucky. I'm

just going to look over a couple of words just to get my mind in the zone

relax, maybe meditate a little bit. I'm not sure if I'll have time for that, but

definitely relax and soak in.

the experience because I know next year I'm not going to be able to have it no

matter what happens.

And then we get to the final 15 and you can't ignore what we're looking at. 13

Indian Americans.

We now.

Begin round eight, the primetime finals.

And to start things off, the 1980 bee champion, Dr. Jacques Bailey is our

pronouncer, his 15th year in this role. Let's start the spelling.

Xanthochroism.

Xanthochroism, language of origin.

This word is made up of parts that went from Greek to Latin, plus an English

combining form.

Does this contain the Greek root xantho meaning yellow?

Yes. Does this contain the Greek root chro meaning color? Yes.

Xanthochroism. X -A -N -T -H

-O -C -H -R -O -I -S

-M. Xanthochroism. That is correct.

I'll try my best.

Clafoutis. C -L -A -F -O

-U.

Q -U -A -D -R -A -G -E

-S -I -M -A. Quadragesima. That is correct.

Concur. C -O -N -C -O -U -R

-S. Concur. Correct.

V -E -R -D.

A -C -C -I -O -V -E -R -D -O -T -E -O. That is correct.

Platonic math.

Savat. S -A -V -A -T, Savat.

Ah, dang it.

Savat is spelled S -A -V -A -T -E.

E -U -P -H -R -O -E. That

is correct.

Melanotype. M -E -L -A -I

-N -O -T -Y -P -E. Melanotype.

That is correct.

C -A -U -S -S.

That is correct.

Correct.

Thyrophagus.

That is correct.

Saucerite.

Could you repeat the word, please?

Saucerite. Saucerite. Definition, please.

A mineral consisting of a tough, compact substance that is white, greenish, or

grayish and is produced in part, at least, by alteration of feldspar.

Could you repeat the word again?

Saucerite. So there are no alternate pronunciations?

Just the one.

Saucerite.

Saucerite.

Saucerite. S -A -U -C -E -R

-I -T -E. Saucerite.

Saucerite is spelled S -A -U -S -S -U -R -I -T -E.

Thank you.

I'm very proud of you. I'm very proud of you.

I'm very proud of you.

I'm very proud of you.

I'm very proud

of

you. Correct.

And then you're watching Sharaf, and you see this extreme confidence on the

stage. At that point, you feel like he has all the makings. And the one thing

that stood out was how quickly he got that one word within five seconds. But

everybody in the room felt like, that's the guy.

Ubaid.

Can I have the definition?

Of or relating to an early Bronze Age culture in Mesopotamia prior to 3000

Can you repeat the word again?

Ubaid, Ubaid.

Can I have the language of origin?

It's from an Iraqi geographical name.

Can you use it in a sentence?

Can you repeat the pronunciations again?

Ubaid, Ubaid.

Ubaid. U -B -A -I -D, Ubaid. That is correct.

Spiegelisen.

E -N, Spiegelisen. That is correct.

N -I -S -I -A, Molianusia. That is correct.

K -O -R -R -I -G -A -N.

Corrigan. Correct.

Nuraghe. N -U -R -A -G -H -E. Nuraghe. That is correct.

Strolltbrug.

Can you repeat the word again?

Strolltbrug. Can I have the definition?

One of a class of imaginary persons who can never die, but who are declared dead

in law at the age of 80 and live on wretchedly at state expense.

Are there any alternate pronunciations?

There's Strollbrug and Strollbrug.

Can I have the language of origin?

It's from an English literary name, Strollbrug, Strollbrug.

Can you repeat the word again?

Strollbrug. Or Strollbrug.

Strollbrug.

Strollbrug.

S -T -R -O -L -D -B -R

-U -G. Strollbrug.

Strollbrug is spelled S -T -R -U -L -D -B -R -U -G.

It comes down to two. Two students that were unflappable.

Ananya on one side, the sixth grader.

And then Rohan, the 14 -year -old who's never been here before. First time on

this stage, in this setting.

And you couldn't tell. They were both locked in.

K -O -M -P -O -N -I -E -R -T.

That is correct.

S -C -E -L -O -P -O -R -U

-S. That is correct.

S -I -S.

That is correct.

That is correct.

That is correct.

That is correct. That is correct. That is correct.

That is correct.

That is correct.

That is correct.

That is correct. That is correct.

Maram, M -A -R -E -M, Maram.

Maram is spelled M -A -R -R -A -M.

Gif blar.

Definition, please.

Gif blar is a perennial shrub of southern Africa that is deadly poisonous

livestock. Language of origin?

Afrikaans. Are there any alternate pronunciations?

Just the one.

Gif blar.

G -I -F -B -L -A -A -R. Gif blar. That is correct.

Ananya, if you spell this next word correctly, we will declare you the 2017

Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion.

Maracane.

Maracane. May I have the definition, please?

A dress fabric that is made with a warp of silk or rayon and a filling of other

yarns and is similar to but heavier than Canton crepe.

Parspeach.

Noun. Language of origin.

It's from a French word from an African geographical name.

Are there any alternate pronunciations?

There are not.

Can you please repeat the word?

Maricaine.

Maricaine. M -A -R -O -C -A -I -N. That is correct.

Congratulations, Ananya.

You are the champion.

This is yours. Congratulations. You're the 2017 champion of the Scripps

Spelling Bee.

The trend of Indian American success in the bee is long -running, and I think

it's going to continue in that direction for the unforeseeable future.

It's never going to be all Indian. We have plenty of other students who are

competing, but they are highly successful, they are having fun with it,

are winning. I don't see it changing anytime soon.

The only way Indian American kids are losing the spelling bee is if they

to Spanish next year.

And then it's still like 50 -50.

I think that this is in part a reflection of this particular time in

and some of the values that have been instilled, I think, by Indian immigrants

on their kids. The relentless, and I think, you know, for the most part,

constructive focus on education for these kids and the fact that spelling in

particular ended up fulfilling all these aspirations of these parents for their

kids.

But I think as generations go on, you may see less of a focus on things like

spelling bees, and hopefully more of a focus on other areas as well, things

may not necessarily be purely academic, but are other areas where kids are

interested in and want to excel.

So I think you'll see a sort of more broadening out of particularly Indian

American kids' interests.

The spelling we're playing every year on television, I think it certainly

inspires lots of South Asian kids, Indian American kids, to take up

a thing. But it's also getting a bunch of other kids into it, too, that aren't

South Asian. Tiger Woods, most of his heroes in golf would have been white,

right? Like, for the most part, like, considering what the sport is. Yet that

inspired him to achieve. So who's to say that there isn't some, like... Kid in

the middle of America who's like brown or black or Latino isn't a huge Arvin

Mahankali head. That's like the dude he looked up to when he was a kid and now

wants to win.

But the truth is, I think what these kids show more than anything else is

American assimilation at work. Here are kids who really come from a very

different world and culture in their historical and cultural origins, and

are taking part in the most American tradition, doing well at it, playing by

rules. If that's not American assimilation at work, I don't know what

We are part of this DNA, this melting pot.

It's not a cliche.

We are part of it.

And to have ownership of one thing in the sense that we could dominate

is pretty cool, considering there's just 1 % of the population of Indian

Americans. So to me, when I say that, I say that as a joke, like, yes, we own

this, because it's a small thing, but it means so much to so many people in our

community. It just was the perfect storm. And I think Spelling Bees, I

that became the Olympics.

For so many Indians.

I just need to say it slowly.

You're just saying, and then you say, and then you say, and then you finish

whole thing.

H -U -M -U -H -U -M -U -N -U -K -U -N -U

-K -U -A -P -U -A -A.