Hey, before you claim that we are crapping on last night’s National Spelling Bee. (We aren’t—congrats to all the eight champions!), we just want to raise one point that @Onemizgy that tagged us on. As his tweet explains:
Ok #spellingbee. The letter “ñ” and “n” are not interchangeable. This contestant spelled the word “Borinqueno” when the actual spelling word is “Borinqueño.” The judges allowed that misspelled word to stand. #borinqueñogate @PatriciagDC @latinorebels pic.twitter.com/4qStShH8mZ
— Miguel A. Gonzalez (@Onemigzy) May 31, 2019
We are going to be honest: it was cool to see a word like “Boriqueño” being used at the National Spelling Bee, but @Onemigzy is right: the letters “n” and “ñ” are not the same. They are different letters and quite frankly, the letter “ñ” is pronounced “enye.”
Others had reactions too:
Wow. That’s…interesting. I’m surprised they have that word in there since it uses the ñ. On the other hand, why shouldn’t they have that word? It describes many Americans. Now I’m gonna contemplating this all night. ?
— BombshellSquad (@RedStateBlonde) May 31, 2019
Someone should perhaps let them in on the difference between ano y año. Maybe then they’ll understand?
— Johnny Miles (@JohnnyMiles62) May 31, 2019
If I was a judge… pic.twitter.com/f1ztj99a0b
— Wolfgang Paco?? (@WolfgangPacoSr) May 31, 2019
Completely diff proniunciation but it’s still an n at the end of the day. Think you’re over reacting a bit.
— Martin Mendoza Jr (@TalkingNYKnicks) May 31, 2019
The issue isn’t pronunciation. The issue is misspelling a word. Which in the competitive sport of spelling, that is ground for losing.
— Miguel A. Gonzalez (@Onemigzy) May 31, 2019
This is another ex. of the need to require US students to be proficient in at least one language other than (in addition to) English. I would hope that judges who were proficient in Spanish would have never allowed this incorrect spelling. There is a difference bet. “ñ” and “n.”
— R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Find out what it means to me. (@AndreJBranch1) May 31, 2019
I mean, yeah, they shouldn’t have gjven it to her and I’m all for #RespectTheÑ but I’m just happy to see a Puertorican word in the #spellingbee! I could’ve been a borinqueña contender! https://t.co/s6FwTNqCUY
— Saritza?? getting ready for BEA Hernandez (@epubagent) May 31, 2019
We did tweet Scripps this morning about why the judges said the word was spelled correctly:
Hi, @ScrippsBee, can you explain why ‘Borinqueño’ was spelled correctly when the speller said "n" and not "ñ" (enye)? Thanks. https://t.co/GPWfDESDmN
— Latino Rebels (@latinorebels) May 31, 2019
The Spelling Bee rules try to address the question but in the case of “ñ,” that mark completely makes it a different letter that is pronounced differently?
Pronouncer Errors: The judges compare the pronouncer’s pronunciation with the diacritical markings in the word list. If the judges feel that the pronouncer’s pronunciation does not match the pronunciation specified in the diacritical markings, the judges will direct the pronouncer to correct the error as soon as it is detected.
Apparently, the Scripps judges might have never seen Project Eñye either:
Listen, we know this is not serious, but we did find it interesting. And in the end, one should always #RespectTheÑ.
