Jasmine and the Bee: Spelling word-initial th in English

• Published in: Language (Baltimore) Vol. 90; no. 4; pp. e149 - e164
• Main Authors: McMenamin, Gerald R, Kerr, Lindsay N
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01-02-2014
• Subjects: English as a second language; ESL; Language; Spelling bees
• ISSN: 0097-8507

Jasmine was an American seventh grader whose first language (L1) is Punjabi and second language (L2) is English. A good speller, she tied for first place at her regional spelling bee. She maintains that she then correctly spelled the tie-breaking word: tomography. After requesting an instant video replay of her word, the judges declared Jasmine's spelling incorrect: d-o-m-o-g-r-a-p-h-y. We examine three questions: Is Jasmine's presumed-high word-recognition ability consistent with such an error? Did her L1 interfere with her L2 pronunciation? Did an L1-influenced pronunciation cause the judges to perceive her word-initial /t/ as [d]? After inquiring of Jasmine about the spelling event itself, we examined the considerable research on Indian English, spelling, speech production, and speech perception; we also audio-recorded Jasmine's spoken language at various style levels to assess the degree to which Punjabi may be influencing her English pronunciation. The first question remains without a confirmed answer, though our assumption is that it is 'no'. Work on Indian English indicates a probable 'yes' to the latter two questions.