By spelling this word correctly, Arvind Mahankali, a 13 - year - old 8th grader from Bayside Hills, New York, conquered his nemesis — German - derived words — and aced the competition's first -
ever vocabulary tests to become this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee champion.
However, Ferguson (and, indeed, anyone who
ever took the
test) understood this section as a
test of basic
vocabulary.