Also see German Loan Words in English
Spelling German - in English
It should come as no great surprise that an English-language spelling bee would include German and other "foreign" words. After all, in its long history English has borrowed vocabulary from many other world languages. As I pointed out in You Already Know German!, English and German are Germanic languages that have both borrowed heavily from Greek, Latin, French, and other languages.
Both the winning and losing words in the 2006 Scripps National Spelling Bee were of German origin. During the final round, held in Washington, D.C. on June 1 and broadcast live on U.S. television, Katharine ("Kerry") Close won the top prize by correctly spelling the German word "Ursprache." Before that the runner-up, Canadian Finola Hackett, had misspelled the German word "Weltschmerz," starting with a "v" instead of "w." She probably should have studied the words and expressions in our glossary of terms that English has borrowed from German, but such words are also included in the Paideia (study guides) provided by the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Of course, spelling bee contestants must deal with many other foreign-language words besides German, but the 2006 bee was notable for highlighting German in the final rounds as well as in earlier stages. Other German words featured in the 2006 contest included "Heiligenschein" (misspelled), "Appenzell" (misspelled), "Wehrmacht," "Bildungsroman," "Ersatz," "Langläufer," "Schloss," "echt," "Lebensraum," and "Edelweiss" (misspelled). (If you'd like to know what those words mean, see below. You'll also find these and many more German loan words in our special German Loan Words glossary.)
Spelling contests are an English-language phenomenon and particularly an American one. German-speakers are usually unfamiliar with the idea of a spelling bee. Unlike English, German is spelled phonetically (except for its own "foreign" words, particularly from French and English!). The irony of Finola Hackett's misspelling of "Weltschmerz" is that it is actually easier to spell in German than most English words. Germans see no need for a spelling bee, since its spelling is far too logical for that. Not that Germans never misspell words in their language, but never to the degree possible in English. The concept of a spelling bee is not part of German culture; there is no German term for "spelling bee." Although spelling bees have been held in England, they never became as popular as they are in the United States.
America's national spelling bee got its start in 1925 when nine contestants were sponsored by the Louisville Courier-Journal in Kentucky. Beginning in 1941 the E.W. Scripps Company took over the sponsorship and running of the national contest, which has been held every year since then with the exception of the war years 1943-45. The 2006 Scripps National Spelling Bee was the 79th annual contest. Bee contestants may be no older than 16 by the date of the final bee and must be sponsored by an English-language daily or weekly newspaper. Contestants come from all over the world, advancing from local and regional bees to qualify for the national match held each year in Washington, D.C. By spelling "Ursprache" correctly, New Jersey teenager Katharine Close earned the top prize of $42,000.
Some German Words from Past Spelling Bees (with basic pronunciation)
- bee It's not a German word, but why is a "spelling bee" called a "bee"? The term "bee" as a form of cooperative work ("quilting bee") dates back to the 18th century, but the term "spelling bee" for a spelling contest did not appear in the U.S. until the mid-1870s.
- Affenpinscher (AHFF-en-PIN-sher) - German wire-haired dog breed
- Edelweiss (AY-del-vice) - A type of Alpine flower
- ersatz (air-SAHTS) - Something substituted for the (usually superior) original
- gesundheit (guh-SUNT-hite) - German for "health" - said when someone sneezes
- gneiss (NYCE) - Metamorphic rock resembling granite; the German is der Gneis (only one "s" and the "g" is pronounced)
- Kaiser (KYE-ser) - An Austrian or German emperor
- Götterdämmerung (GOET-er-DEHM-er-oong) - Lit., "twilight of the gods" = the total collapse of a society, regime, or organization
- Realpolitik (RAY-all-POL-eh-tik) - Foreign policy based on a country's own interests; power politics
- schnauzer (SCHNOW-ser) - German dog breed named for its snout (Schnauze)
- umlaut (OOHM-lowt) - Dieresis, a diacritical mark (two dots) over a vowel indicating a change in sound; in linguistics, a change or shift in the sound of a word element
- zeppelin (ZEPP-uh-lin) - German dirigible (rigid airship) invented by Count (Graf) Ferdinand Zeppelin in 1900.
MORE > See more German words used in English in this glossary: German Loan Words in English.
MORE > Latin Loan Words in German
MORE > Latin in German (article)
MORE > French Loan Words in German
MORE > English-German Cognates
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