If Indian kids can spell their way to glory, can’t public signs get it right?

Two Indian-Americans on the podium as the first joint winners of the Scripps spelling bee in the US in half a century may have invited a lot of racist invective on the internet, but it has effectively established the south Asian domination of this activity. Unfortunately, their success also highlights the dire state of spellings in their ethnic homeland. Does their mastery over the obscure excuse, or even ameliorate, the lack of general proficiency in this crucial aspect of language?

The allusion, of course, is to public signage — particularly official signs — in India, whose innovative spelling causes as much mirth as concern. Since the new government is all for giving clear directions and promoting performance, can aspelling bee with adequate pecuniary inducements be considered, to boost efficiency and accuracy among sign painters and their supervisors?

Nevertheless, it is commendable that the young Indian-Americans knew the spelling, if not always the meaning, of such recondite words as quatrefoil and favus, though they faltered on corpsbruder and antigropelos. Others who conquered words such as exsiccosis deserve praise too, especially as spellcheck redlines such abstruse gems. Hopefully, though, they will all have the good sense to never use any of these words when conversing with their grade school mates.