# Spelling beas. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 22, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-beas/551077 "2010-08-22T16:11:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-beas/551077/1 "2010-08-22T16:11:46Z")
The contestants always pronounce the word before and after spelling it. Why is that? Simply tradidion? It’s obvious that pronunciation has no effect on the competition itself. Reciting the word before spelling it I can (kinda) see, but why after? Is the military maybe in charge of spelling bees? 😉 Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-beas/551077/2 "2010-08-22T16:15:06Z")
I’m sure Andy’s aunt is a wonderful speller, but don’t think she hosted any spelling contests. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-beas/551077/3 "2010-08-22T16:24:11Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I’m sure Andy’s aunt is a wonderful speller, but don’t think she hosted any spelling contests. That was intended as a special a treat for spelling nazis. Your welcome! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-beas/551077/4 "2010-08-22T16:28:54Z")
I always thought it was to signal the start and end of the spell of that word. How are the judges to know if you have finished? If you didn’t say the word after, you might be able to sneak in another letter if you thought the judges were displeased, but before they spoke. Granted, that won’t work for all words, but it prevents ambiguity. ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-beas/551077/5 "2010-08-22T16:49:28Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > > [@Oakminster](#): > > > > I’m sure Andy’s aunt is a wonderful speller, but don’t think she hosted any spelling contests. > > That was intended as a special a treat for spelling nazis. > Your welcome! > 😉 Thanks for that one too 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-beas/551077/6 "2010-08-22T16:51:28Z")
It is buying time to think and keeping as much stage time as possible. They memorize so many spelling lists, yet they never just crank out a word, even an easy one. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-beas/551077/7 "2010-08-22T16:56:27Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > > [@Oakminster](#): > > > > I’m sure Andy’s aunt is a wonderful speller, but don’t think she hosted any spelling contests. > > That was intended as a special a treat for spelling nazis. > Your welcome! > 😉 Thank’s! ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-beas/551077/8 "2010-08-22T17:03:06Z")
Hm… shouldn’t it be spelling _bees_? Doh. I fell for it 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-beas/551077/9 "2010-08-23T00:47:58Z")
> [@descamisado](#): > > > [@mangeorge](#): > > > > That was intended as a special a treat for spelling nazis. > > Your welcome! > > 😉 > > Thank’s! Your well come. ---
**Author:** ![tsm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/db5fbb/32.png) [@tsm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tsm)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-beas/551077/10 "2010-08-23T05:05:38Z")
I’ve been helping out with a regional spelling bee for about 20 years now. With our bee at least, the speller doesn’t HAVE to pronounce the word either before or after. However, it’s a good idea to pronounce it before because it lets the judges hear that you understood the word correctly. We have some spellers pronounce it at the end and some not. It just lets the judges know you’ve finished. If you don’t say the word at the end, they’ll just assume you’ve finished if you’ve stopped spelling and look like you don’t plan to say anything else. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-beas/551077/11 "2010-08-23T11:37:59Z")
Back in middle school I seem to recall that we had to say the word before and after to indicate that we were starting to spell and finishing. Prevents ambiguity, as someone mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![limegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@limegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/limegreen)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-beas/551077/12 "2010-08-23T15:05:19Z")
I’ve been a judge at several regional bees and it lets us know (hopefully) that the kid actually heard the correct word. For example, if the pronouncer says, “beech” and the kid repeats “bees”, we can catch him and have him listen as the word is pronounced again. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-beas/551077/13 "2010-08-23T16:22:27Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > The contestants always pronounce the word before and after spelling it. Why is that? Simply **tradidion**? It’s obvious that pronunciation has no effect on the competition itself. > Reciting the word before spelling it I can (kinda) see, but why after? > Is the military maybe in charge of spelling bees? 😉 > Peace, > mangeorge So, the other misspelling was on purpose too? (my bold) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-beas/551077/14 "2010-08-23T16:24:56Z")
Way back in 2nd grade, the teacher told us that saying the word, spelling it, then saying the word again makes it a complete sentence. Don’t ask me how that works. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-beas/551077/15 "2010-08-23T20:28:49Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Way back in 2nd grade, the teacher told us that saying the word, spelling it, then saying the word again makes it a complete sentence. Don’t ask me how that works. _sigh_ Ah, the chimeric complete sentence. I dearly recall the multi-page Pit slugfest that arose when someone **insisted** that “No.” is not a well-formed utterance because, lacking a subject and predicate, it isn’t a complete sentence. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-beas/551077/16 "2010-08-24T08:12:07Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > > [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > > > Way back in 2nd grade, the teacher told us that saying the word, spelling it, then saying the word again makes it a complete sentence. Don’t ask me how that works. > > _sigh_ Ah, the chimeric complete sentence. I dearly recall the multi-page Pit slugfest that arose when someone **insisted** that “No.” is not a well-formed utterance because, lacking a subject and predicate, it isn’t a complete sentence. Saying a word, spelling it, and saying it again is definitely not a complete sentence. Not sure about “no,” but I was still under the impression that complete sentences needed subjects and verbs. Hence, “go” is a complete sentence, for example. There’s nothing particularly special about complete sentences that makes “no” unusable, but if we’re going by definitions, I thought that’s where we still were. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-beas/551077/17 "2010-08-24T12:50:16Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > > [@mangeorge](#): > > > > The contestants always pronounce the word before and after spelling it. Why is that? Simply **tradidion**? It’s obvious that pronunciation has no effect on the competition itself. > > Reciting the word before spelling it I can (kinda) see, but why after? > > Is the military maybe in charge of spelling bees? 😉 > > Peace, > > mangeorge > > So, the other misspelling was on purpose too? (my bold) 😃 No, that one I blame on old age.