印度时报: 为什么那么多南亚裔美国人赢得拼字大赛?

Why have so many South Asian-Americans won the spelling bee?

为什么那么多的南亚裔美国人赢得拼字大赛?

Balu Natarajan correctly spelled the word “milieu” to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 1985. He was the first South Asian-American to do so. Three years later, Rageshree Ramachandran seized the title with the word “elegiacal.” And this week, Karthik Nemmani became the 11th straight South Asian-American to win the bee. His word: “koinonia,” which means an intimate spiritual or Christian communion.

巴卢纳塔拉詹拼接准确拼出‘milieu’这个词，赢得了1985年斯克里普斯全国拼字大赛的冠军。他是第一个做到的南亚裔美国人。三年后，雷格什瑞拉玛昌德南用“elegiacal”这个词折桂。本周，卡西克南马尼成为第11位斩获蜜蜂奖的南亚裔美国人。他的获胜词是“koinonia”，意思是同心合意或基督教通约。

Even as the spelling bee’s words seem to have grown tougher, something else has stayed fairly consistent: 19 of the last 23 winners have been of South Asian descent.

尽管拼字比赛的单词似乎越来越难拼，但有些现象却始终如一：在最后的23个冠军中，有19位拥有南亚血统。

A recently released film, “Breaking the Bee,” tackled the question: Why have so many South Asian-Americans won the spelling bee? In an interview, Sam Rega, the filmmaker, offered several theories. Excerpts:

最近上映的电影《拼字大赛》就探讨了这样一个问题：为什么那么多的南亚裔美国人赢得了拼字大赛?在一次采访中，电影制作人山姆雷加提出了一些理论。摘录如下：

What was the starting point for South Asian-American success at spelling bees?

南美裔美国人在拼字大赛中取得成功的起点是什么?

The 1965 Immigration Act. This act lifted race-based quotas about who could come and not come into the United States. Subsequently, there was an influx of highly educated immigrants, especially from India, coming into the US. These families had a strong focus on education and raised their kids to also value education.

1965年移民法案。这项法案废除了规定谁能来美国、谁不能来美国的基于种族配额的限制。随后，大批受过高等教育的移民，尤其是来自印度的移民涌入美国。这些家庭非常重视教育，他们的孩子也被培养得非常重视教育。

What role did Balu Natarajan’s win in 1985 play in this phenomenon?

巴卢纳塔拉詹在1985年的获胜在这一现象中发挥了什么样的作用?

It was the first time people from the community saw a South Asian kid on screen. Kids thought, “If he can do it, I can do it. Our families are from the same place. He looks like me.”

这是来自社区的人们第一次在屏幕上看到南亚小孩。孩子们会想:“既然他能做到，我也能做到。我们的家人来自同一个地方。他长得很像我。”

Newspapers covered his win. This was a key moment. A headline like that on the front page of newspapers meant a lot to the community.

报纸铺天盖地地报道他的得冠消息。这是一个重大时刻。那样的报纸头版头条对社区民众来说意义非凡。

In recent years, I’ve heard kids describe past winners as role models, like you might hear a young kid say they want to play like Michael Jordan. ESPN’s decision to broadcast the bee starting in 1994, the 2002 Academy Award-nominated film “Spellbound” — all raised the profile of spelling in the South Asian community and made more kids want to participate.

最近几年，我听到好多孩子们把冠军们当成榜样，就像你也许听到过的，小孩子说他们想要像迈克尔·乔丹那样打篮球。娱乐体育节目电视网决定从1994年开始转播拼字大赛，播放奥斯卡提名电影《拼字比赛》，这些都提高了拼写大赛在南亚社区的知名度，越来越多的孩子想要参与其中。

Is there something about South Asian values or families that explains success in spelling?

南亚人的价值观或家庭能解释拼写的成功吗?

To me, the key is how much these families believe in the idea of family. And how much spelling is a family sport. They believe in working together as a family unit. They want to create a bond between parent and child. Spellers look to their parents as role models and coaches. Their siblings often play assistant coach. Parents like to instill values like dedication, hard work, and how to handle yourself in defeat or success.

对我来说，关键是这些家庭有多相信家庭这个概念。拼写在多大程度上成为一项家庭运动。他们信仰着作为一个家庭单位一起努力。他们想在父母和孩子之间建立一种联系。拼写者视父母为榜样和教练。他们的兄弟姐妹经常担任助理教练的角色。父母则喜欢灌输诸如奉献、努力、如何在失败或成功中把握自己等价值观。

These families also tend to be multilingual, sometimes with moms and dads who speak different languages. Exposure to multiple languages can also play a role in spellers’ facility with spelling. Spelling is a worldly sport, it connects you to languages and places far away from you.

这些家庭也往往会说多种语言，有时父母会说不同的语言。接触多种语言也可以在拼写方面发挥作用。拼写是一项世界性的运动，它将你与遥远的语言和地方联系在一起。

Are there groups that help children compete in this sport?

是否有机构团体帮助儿童参加这项运动的比赛?

Yes, there are organizations like the North South Foundation, which started in the late 1980s to help kids succeed academically in the US. In the early 1990s, they started hosting academic competitions like spelling bees. They focus on helping spellers prepare for the national competition. They’ll even stop in the middle of a bee, and give guidance like, “speak a little louder, ask this question, or that question.”

是的，有一些组织，比如“南北方基金会”，创建于上世纪80年代末，旨在帮助孩子在美国取得学业上的成功。上世纪90年代初，他们开始举办拼写比赛等学术比赛。他们致力于帮助拼写者为全国比赛做准备。他们甚至会在拼字大赛中间申请暂停，给孩子们一些指导，比如，“说得大声一点，问这个问题，或者那个问题。”

Since 2008, there’s also been a South Asian Spelling Bee. Which, coincidentally, is also the beginning of the 11-year streak of South Asian winners of the national bee.

2008年后，还举办了一场南亚拼字比赛。巧合的是，这也是11年来南亚选手获取拼字大赛冠军的开始之年。

Is there a downside to focusing on spelling in the South Asian community?

南亚社区关注拼写有什么弊端吗?

No, I think these families know what sacrifices they’re making. These kids could have more vacation or more time to play with friends, sure, but most families I met try to strike a healthy balance. To be driven and focused on something requires sacrifice, whether you’re a speller or a basketball player or a musician.

不，我认为这些家庭知道他们在付出什么样的牺牲。当然，这些孩子本可以有更多的假期或更多的时间和朋友一起玩，但我遇到的大多数家庭都努力保持一种健康的平衡。无论你是一个拼字选手、篮球运动员还是音乐家，专注于某件事都是需要付出一些牺牲的。

印度时报读者的评论：

来源：http://www.santaihu.com/45152.html

外文：https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Rk Fromny

3768

Rk Fromny-11 hours ago

South asian americans ?? IT is HINDU AMERICANS. And the reason is obvious. They hav best brains ! And hindu americans top in EVERY FIELD. Medicine. Engg..finance and now even american politics and state dept !!

南亚裔美国人？这是印度裔美国人。原因很明显啊。他们拥有最聪明的大脑！印度裔美国人在各个领域都是顶尖的，比如医药、工程、金融、现在甚至打入美国政界和国家部门！！

 

Khagaraj Sommu

10027

Khagaraj Sommu-USA-11 hours ago

Most Americans are highly creative ! They hate both spelling and grammar !

大多数美国人都极富创新力！！他们讨厌拼字和语法！

 

Khagaraj Sommu

DonQuixote

1877

DonQuixote-11 hours ago-Follow

It''s INDIAN ... not South Asian. In fact the region is known as the Indian Sub Continent. I think we need to have a chat with out dear friend Trump and have this corrected as well.

那是印度…不是南亚。事实上，这个地区被称为印度次大陆。我想我们需要和我们亲爱的朋友特朗普谈一谈，把这个问题改正过来。

 

Ravi Ranganathan

621

Ravi Ranganathan-10 hours ago-Follow

That''s right!!! Don''t just say"SouthAsians" they were all Hindu Indians period. I don''t like to extend the glory with hate mongering Muslems of Pakistan, bamgladesh.

没错! ! !不要只是说“南亚人”，他们都是印度人。我不喜欢把这个荣耀也扩展到巴基斯坦和孟加拉国的穆斯林身上。

 

Florence Khape

1778

Florence Khape-12 hours ago-Follow

How does it even matter to India ..stop stupid news

这对印度有什么关系，别在发布这种愚蠢的新闻

 

WILLIAM INDIA

5996

WILLIAM INDIA-MANGALORE-12 hours ago-Follow

REFLECTING INDIAN BRAINS.... AND INTELIGENCIA...

反映出印度人的大脑....和我们的智慧

 

Ravi

3871

Ravi-IND-10 hours ago-Follow

I’d rather have my son/daughter use a spell check and focus on Math and science - these dumb f competitions should be scrapped !!!

我宁愿让我的儿子/女儿使用拼写检查功能，专注于数学和科学——这些愚蠢的比赛应该取消!!

 

Venkatesh Shivraj Bolegave

831

Venkatesh Shivraj Bolegave-Nanded-12 hours ago-Follow

We are better at knowing things than understanding it.

我们更擅长认知事物而不是理解事物。

 

Sridhar Santhanagopalan

711

Sridhar-9 hours ago-Follow

These winners must have studied in general category and not from reservation quota

这些获奖者不是通过预留制配额学习的。

 

RCH Ram

23395

RCH Ram-10 hours ago-Follow

Why are U falsely saying South Asians... THEY ARE HINDUS and not MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS.. There is a BIG BIG DIFFERENCE!!

你为什么要错误地说他们是南亚人……他们是印度教徒，不是穆斯林和基督徒。区别大了去了!

 

Shailendra Kumar Trivedi

682

Shailendra Kumar Trivedi-11 hours ago-Follow

We are proud to be Indian and our next generation is doing well. All the best to these kids who are bringing proud for our country

我们为自己是印度人而自豪，我们的下一代也做得很好。最美好的祝福送给这些为我们的国家带来骄傲的孩子们

 

Rajkumar Singh

378

Rajkumar Singh-Location-12 hours ago-Follow

South Asian!!! LOL. They are American Indians, you idiot.

南亚人! ! !哈哈他们是印度裔美国人，你这个白痴。

 

Raghu Kashyap

15089

Raghu Kashyap-11 hours ago-Follow

Do not say South asians because there are many Islamic states who excell in savagery. It is only Hindu Indians who are on top of accedemics/ professions.

不要说南亚人，因为有许多伊斯兰国家只擅长野蛮行径。只有印度教的印度人才是学术界/专业人士中的佼佼者。

 

Shivram

298

Shivram-Thane-8 hours ago-Follow

can we take our so called reservation backward brilliant candidates to the US? Talented people move abroad and local Indians are at the mercy of these reservation doctors engineers scientists education system is rotten...stop reservation and give importance to merit and we might be a force in 20 years

我们能把我们所谓的预留制度的优秀候选人带到美国吗?有才华的人移居国外，当地的印度人受这些预留制医生，工程师，科学家的支配，教育系统差到令人发指……废除预留制吧，让优秀人的发挥重要性，我们才能在20年后成为一股强大的力量

 

Vishu

972

Vishu-9 hours ago-Follow

Indian are shining everywhere except in India

印度人在印度本土之外的各个地方都大放异彩

 

George Varghese

3125

George Varghese-Location-9 hours ago-Follow

Only one answer to this question. We love rote. Right from memorising Vedic Mantras to math-tables. Nobody can defeat us for learning by rote. Our exam-based education system in India is still ruled by rote. Rote is king! If we want to become a productive nation, we need to change to creative learning and thinking.

这个问题只有一个答案。我们喜欢死记硬背。从背诵吠陀经到数学表。没有人能在死记硬背这件事上打败我们。印度的应试教育体系仍然是死记硬背的。死记硬背才是王道!如果我们想要成为一个富有生产力的国家，我们需要转变为创造性的学习和思考。

 

Bijay

3364

Bijay-Noida-8 hours ago-Follow

Are you shy of saying them Indian?

你是羞于说他们是印度人吗?

 

Satyendra N Dhanda

5811

Satyendra N Dhanda-9 hours ago-Follow

Indians constitute just 1% of US population and have highest per capita income and recently involved in politics in the last 10 yrs or so occupying 2 or 3 governers of the states as well as US Senate--- they have lots of clout in US politics as compared to their numbers

印度人仅占美国人口的1%，但是人均收入却是最高的，最近10年开始参与政治，现在已经在2-3个州和以及美国参议院占据了席位，相较于他们的人口数，他们在美国政治中的影响力很大

 

RCH Ram

23395

RCH Ram-10 hours ago-Follow

All the past 11 winners of the SPELLING BEE and the past 6 winners of GEOGRAPHIC BEE are HINDUS!!

历史上11名拼字大赛的获胜者和6位地理大赛冠军都是印度教徒!!

 

Leviathan

1523

Leviathan-Lucknow, India-11 hours ago-Follow

Why Indians? That's how the headline should start.

为什么是印度人？标题应该这样写才对。

 

Ekdesi

22548

ekdesi-USA-8 hours ago-Follow

Their parents spend a lot of time in preparing them. Either mother or father spends full time.

他们的父母花了很多时间为他们做准备。母亲或父亲是全职的。

 

Ulhas Kulkarni

18709

Ulhas-Navi Mumbai-10 hours ago-Follow

Nothing to be proud of. Have you ever heard of an Indian doing anything worthwhile?

没什么值得骄傲的。你听说过印度人做过什么有价值的事吗?

 

True Indian

3249

True Indian-11 hours ago-Follow

Bottomline is they are Americans. Stop this tagging of Indianism. They cannot achieve this if they are in India.

最重要的事是他们是美国人。别再给印度人贴标签了。如果他们在印度，是无法成功的。

 

Haldi Ram

44

Haldi Ram-11 hours ago-Follow

Title should B:- When H1Bs produce SpellingBees

标题应该是：H1Bs签证何时成就了拼字大赛

 

Sivaraman Ramakrishnan

1183

Sivaraman Ramakrishnan-10 hours ago-Follow

Spelling is one of the ugliest feature of english as a language. The language in its hap hazardry growth path cant stick to any predictable meaning to the same words. More unscientific is spelling. Because you dont question anything said by a white man you celebrate these uglythings

英语作为一门语言，拼写是最丑陋的特征之一。拼写是更加不科学的。因为你不质疑白人说的任何话，你就赞美这些丑恶的东西

 

Doctor Dang Doctor Dang-Bangalore-7 hours ago-Follow

Indians proudly continuing the legacy of being rote learners even abrouad.

印度人还在自豪地继续着死记硬背的传统。

 

Sunder Swami

530

Sunder Swami-7 hours ago-Follow

Because no one else thinks that regurgitation is a skill worth acquiring. I mean what is the point in remembering spellings when they are available freely on line? Seriously! These kids should learn some analytic skills instead of regurgitating how an obscure word is spelled.

因为没有人认为反刍是一种值得学习的技能。我的意思是，既然可以在线随时查找，记住单词的拼写有什么意义?我是认真的!这些孩子应该学习一些分析技巧，而不是反复思考如何拼写一个晦涩的单词。

 

Desh Bandhu

5901

Desh Bandhu-7 hours ago-Follow

Indians are spelling bee winners, because there is no quota or reservation, as simple as that.

印度人是拼字大赛的赢家，那是因为没有配额、也没有预留制，就这么简单。