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Case in point: As someone who was born in an English speaking community but moved to Switzerland (German speaking part) as a child, I had a hard time figuring o
by Kichererbsen 3y ago
Case in point: As someone who was born in an English speaking community but moved to Switzerland (German speaking part) as a child, I had a hard time figuring out what a "spelling bee" was - you know, that trope from tv? It's... just not a thing here in Switzerland and I'm sure it isn't a thing in any neighboring countries.
The language our script most suits is Italian. It's way more regular than Spanish, though your point "you can pronounce it" (from reading alone) is an important one - it might be tricky in French or Spanish or German to figure out exactly how to spell a word, but most kids can pronounce any written word correctly after their first year of reading. Sometimes learning where to stress Greek/Latin-based words can be a bit difficult to figure out, but follows a pattern that is easily picked up.
- bonzini 3y agoSpelling bee is a thing in French-speaking Switzerland, according to a former colleague of mine from Lausanne.
- gerikson 3y agoI got the feeling that spelling bees are huge in France, at least in the late 80s when I was an exchange student.
- fanf2 3y agoI think the French go in for competitive dictation rather than spelling bees, i.e., running text rather than individual words. It’s a challenge because French is so full of homophones and puns.
- IshKebab 3y agoIt's not a thing in the UK either.
- iainmerrick 3y agoThey're not as high-profile as in the US, but they do exist in the UK. And schools have spelling tests to check kids' progress, even if they don't make it into a big competitive event.