Pronunciation ousts Ja's speller

Rhea Braithwaite

NEW YORK: RHEA BRAITHWAITE sailed smoothly through the first day of the Scripps Howard Spelling Bee Competition in Washington, D.C..

But yesterday morning, on day two, the Jamaican Spelling Bee Champion tripped over an unfamiliar pronunciation of the word "rowel" in round four and was knocked out of contention for the Scripps Howard Spelling Bee title.

The first prize for the 73rd annual contest went to 12-year-old George Thampy, whose winnings include $10,000 cash. Thampy who is schooled at home, lives in Maryland Heights, Missouri.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper reported last night that George tied for fourth in 1998 and finished in a third-place tie last year. Spelling is not George's only talent: last week, he placed second at the National Geography Bee, and won $15,000.

Sean Conley of California finished second in yesterday's Spelling Bee, with 14-year-old Alison Miller of Albany, New York, in third position.

Although Rhea was disappointed that she didn't make it further in the competition, the 13-year-old Grade 8 student of Ardenne High School, Kingston, took things in stride.

Surrounded by a supportive entourage that included her parents and spelling coach the Revd. Glen Archer, she later conceded to being a little nervous during the competition. She told The Gleaner: "I knew I was well prepared, I knew I had a world-class coach, I knew that God was with me, and I knew that I would get most of the words I knew. I just did not know one of them."

Unaccustomed to certain inflections, she spelt "rowel", (which means a spiked revolving disc at the end of a spur on a riding boot) and pronounced by spell master Dr. Alex Cameron, as "row'l", without the "e".

The Revd. Glen Archer described Rhea as a most "worthy champion to train." He contended that the pronunciation rendered by Dr. Cameron changed the sense of the word, thus throwing off Rhea.

A former Jamaican champion speller himself, the Revd. Mr. Archer said that people might believe the word "rowel" was so easy. However, "when you go there before an audience of 247 spellers sitting behind you... all Americans...and you consider it a worldwide [Spelling] Bee that encompasses 10 million spellers coming down to the top 248 spellers (138 were eliminated on the first day of the contest) then you think about it, how daunting it can be."

Rhea's sponsors, The Gleaner Company, Ltd., still sees her as a winner. "She started out as a winner in our competition at home and she continues to be a winner," said Karin Daley, the Gleaner's manager of overseas publications and product improvement. Finishing in the top 150 is a great achievement, she said.

Rhea is "an absolutely wonderful young lady who will be a good role model for young people her age," Miss Daley added.

For the time being, however, Rhea has her sights set on finishing school and preparing for a career as an architect or interior designer.

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