Grammar (was weird fanfic reviews)

[nera at rconnect.com]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., "Mrs Snape (Dinah)" <mrs_snape at y...> 
wrote:
> >But yes, English is an incredibly difficult language to learn, and
> >it's even tricky for someone who has learnt it as a first 
language. I
> >can never spell beauro, as in FBI. It gets me every time!
> >>> Sam, the Spelling Snob (and alliteration advocate)
*************************************************************
I suspect that you are in the good company of a large number of other 
people who can not spell "bureau", either. I try to remember that 
the "byoo" sound means that it starts with "bu" ... then an "r" and 
you have the "eau" part, which sounds like "o" for some reason ... so 
you don't need the "o" ... All of which is why we say "FBI" a LOT and 
hardly ever say, "Federal Bureau of Investigation". :)

American schools also have this time-honored tradition of holding 
spelling bees. In our school, we started having practice spelling 
bees, which included the whole class. Everyone was required to 
participate. Then, after a few weeks of practice, we would move to 
the gymnasium and it would be a school-wide practice. Then came the 
first day of the official spelling bee. Again, the whole school was 
required to participate. Students were eliminated by misspelling a 
word. But ... they had to remain in the audience and listen to the 
rest of the spelling bee. I never realized, until I became an adult,  
that even if we were not active in the contest, that we were still 
learning vicariously,

I wonder how many words I have listened to being spelled and how many 
times I have also heard these words with the definitions given? 
(often asked in order to stall for more time to try to remember how 
to spell the word)

I also wonder if they still hold spelling bees or if this too has 
been deemed as "cruel & unusual punishment" for the poor children and 
therefore "no fun", and has been dropped by the wayside along with 
many other learning aids, such as memorizing the multiplication 
tables. 

Doreen