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 hel 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 begng 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msl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