Education

Repeat champ

Tsaile eighth-grader wins Navajo Nation spell-off for second year

By Jason Begay
Navajo Times

WINDOW ROCK, March 20, 2008

At the end, after Natasha Begay had braved the stage where she out-spelled 50 of her peers - including 13 toe-to-toe final rounds - I asked about her T-shirt, a black snug-fitting affair that claims, "I recycle boys."

The query made the 14-year-old spelling champ giggle. It was the loudest noise she made all day.

And it's not like her stifled laugh - more like a noisy smile - was all that loud to begin with.

Begay, an eighth-grader at Tsaile Public School, won the Navajo Nation Spelling Bee on March 6. It was her second victory - she also won in 2006 - so she'll be making her second trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the National Spelling Bee that takes place May 29 and 30.

"It's just a shirt," Begay giggled, slouching down in her chair. "I just bought it."

The bold shirt belies her shy demeanor. Even with the microphone in front of her, it's hard to hear her slight voice.

Talking to Begay in person, she covers her mouth as she speaks and answers quickly, albeit politely.

She opened up a little when talking about school, specifically to talk about her favorite subject, language arts. That's where Begay gets to research and write about certain topics, including her favorite - endangered animals.

Begay won the tribe's spelling bee after going one-on-one for 13 rounds with runner-up Jack Martin, 12, a seventh grade student at Hilltop Christian School. Both were familiar with the words, making each round as much a nail-biter as any sports event.

By round 11, Begay and Martin were alone in the competition, when they correctly spelled "wanderlust" and "pistachio."

In round 13, they spelled "insidious" and "metaphor." In round 15, it was "nemesis" and "percolate."

In round 17, Martin stumbled briefly on "chipotle." Puzzled, he asked to hear the word repeated five times, and tried to pronounce it several times himself.

"Tipoly?" he ventured.

Martin then asked for the language of origin, which stumped the announcer. She didn't know how to pronounce that word, so she spelled it out, "N-A-H-U-A-T-L to Spanish."

"Tichply?" Martin asked, even more confused. He asked for the definition, but seemed distracted as the announcer explained it was a smoked pepper used in cooking. Martin squinted as he struggled to visualize the word.

"Chipoly? Which one is it," he asked, almost frustrated.

Finally, he took his best shot. It was like watching someone shut his eyes and run on a tightrope.

"C-H-I-P-O-T-L-E," Martin spelled, looking toward the judges to make sure the bell didn't chime, signifying a mistake. With no chime, he sat down, smiling.

"I thought it was a different word," Martin said afterwards. "When I was practicing with my parents, they pronounced it differently."

His confusion subsided slightly when he asked for the word of origin, Martin said.

"At first I thought it could be Greek," he said. "But when they said 'Spanish,' I had a better idea."

Both spellers said they spent at least one hour every day studying the word list with parents, teachers and friends.

Unlike years previous when the spelling list provided only the words, the words could be reviewed online at a Web site that also provided the language of origin and links to definitions and pronunciation guides. This gave students a chance to become more familiar with the vocabulary rather than simply memorizing the spelling.

"Before I started, I probably knew about 100 or 200 of the words," Martin said. "Now I probably know about 800."

Martin finally missed his word in round 23, "langosta," which means "lobster" in several Mediterranean languages. He spelled it with an "a" in place of the "o."

"I knew it in my mind, but it sounds like an 'a' when you pronounce it," he said.

Begay won the bee by spelling "bravura."

"I don't know what that means," she said. "I just know how to spell it."

The Navajo Nation Spelling Bee is sponsored by the Navajo Times and the Office of Youth Development.

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