Althouse: "Jeopardy" will never accomplish a total destruction of the human spirit, but...

May 11, 2023

"Jeopardy" will never accomplish a total destruction of the human spirit, but...

50 comments:

tcrosse said...: Let's call the whole thing off.; 5/11/23, 7:47 AM
Mark said...: I cannot believe they wrote that question/answer, decided to demand exact correct pronunciation, and thought that would be fun entertainment for the people at home.

Should have hung it up after Trebek's last show.; 5/11/23, 7:48 AM
Old and slow said...: That seems like a petty ruling. It was clear that they all knew the answer, they just don't speak Russian and hadn't heard his name spoken before. I know that when I read books with foreign names I often have an internal "pronunciation" of names that is wildly off the mark, it doesn't change my understanding of the book. I'm not a Jeopardy watcher, is this how it always operates regarding correct pronunciation?; 5/11/23, 7:48 AM
Robert Marshall said...: The best you can say about that exchange is that everyone got cheated equally, so no one got ahead unfairly.

Come on, it's a Russian name. Some leeway should be allowed!; 5/11/23, 8:03 AM
Lilly, a dog said...: Jeopardy! is doing its part to promote the destruction of the human spirit.

One of these things is not like the others
One of these things just doesn't belong
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?; 5/11/23, 8:04 AM
cassandra lite said...: Stupid criterion. What would the ruling be on "Stockholm is its capital"? "What is Sweden?" "No." "What is Sveden?" "No." "What is Svedeen?" "No, the correct answer is Sverige, pronounced Sveeria."; 5/11/23, 8:14 AM
Cappy said...: 128 genders represented and nobody can pronounce a Russian word.; 5/11/23, 8:14 AM
AMDG said...: Usually you are giving a pass on mis-pronouncuation.; 5/11/23, 8:15 AM
Limited blogger said...: Send each of those contestants $1600; 5/11/23, 8:18 AM
Gerda Sprinchorn said...: Not sure I understand the Jeopardy rules here.

How close does a pronunciation have to be to be considered correct, especially when it is an English translation of a Russian name? Russian doesn't even use the same alphabet. Is it ruled incorrect if you don't pronounce the "h"? English rarely uses "zh" as a single sound, so how can you expect English-speakers to remember such a subtlety. I know that I just ignore the "h". How about if you pronounce the "i" as a long "e"? Plus, the spelling of foreign names often varies over time.; 5/11/23, 8:19 AM
John Holland said...: About damned time somebody tries to uphold standards in our crumbling civilization.

I mean, wtf was that garbled mess -- "Schvitzel-neat-sun"?? Hang your head, girl.

I hope Ms. Bialik imposes a dunce cap rule for the worst "question."; 5/11/23, 8:23 AM
Gahrie said...: Bullshit. It was clear that all three contestants knew the right answer. Spelling doesn't count, why should pronunciation?; 5/11/23, 8:25 AM
Rory said...: I think they all got it right, but the last contestant isn't really distinguishable from what Bialik ends up saying. The last one clearly hit the fourth syllable the others had trouble with.; 5/11/23, 8:36 AM
Ice Nine said...: Jeopardy has always arbitrarily and bafflingly ruled against a particular pronunciation now and then. Alex did it too. And that randomness has always been maddening.; 5/11/23, 8:39 AM
Rory said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/11/23, 8:41 AM
Andrew said...: Ken Jennings is usually more lenient on pronunciations. Bialik is a terrible host.; 5/11/23, 8:49 AM
Aggie said...: Even the announcer failed to use the correct pronunciation in the official Moscow Soviet dialect that prevailed at the time of his birth.; 5/11/23, 8:49 AM
Sebastian said...: I'm ambivalent. The contestants got it right, but it's also fun to see nerdy standards enforced.

"I mentioned Solzhenitsyn to a 50ish friend, generally aware of the world, a couple weeks ago, and drew a complete blank."

This is the bigger issue. I'd say AS is the most important writer of the 20th century, one of the few who will cause ripples centuries from now. Great writing, great voice, great subject matter, historic figure. Though of course in these prog times, he's also deplorably suspect, therefore not on canonical reading lists.; 5/11/23, 8:49 AM
NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...: The Millennial Generation comes to Jeopardy.; 5/11/23, 8:58 AM
rcocean said...: I would've lost too. I always pronounced it:

Sol-zit-neet-zin Like this guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVDYYQnCWp8

Here's my Jeopardy question:

Answer For $500: He was an arrogant, ignorant dumbass who refused to invited Alexander Solzhenitsyn to the White House

Question: Who was Jerry Ford?; 5/11/23, 9:02 AM
Mark said...: I remember in one of the teen tournaments the contestant got the "question" right in the final, but had a misspelling and they ruled him to be incorrect. Spelling was NEVER a requirement in the adult game, but for some reason they imposed it for the kids.

The audience was not amused.; 5/11/23, 9:14 AM
rehajm said...: Suck it Buy a lick...; 5/11/23, 9:14 AM
Joe Smith said...: Unattractive has-been pseudo intellectuals for $1,000 Alex.

"No, the correct answer is Sverige, pronounced Sveeria."

This.

How about an answer in the Khoisan language?

Be sure to get every clicking sound exactly correct : ); 5/11/23, 9:15 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "I'm not a Jeopardy watcher, is this how it always operates regarding correct pronunciation?"

Yes.; 5/11/23, 9:17 AM
Ann Althouse said...: What I like about this ruling is that it makes me laugh out loud every time?

The smugness on Mayaya Blahblayblahblah's face is so hilarious.; 5/11/23, 9:19 AM
s'opihjerdt said...: Not as bad as the time they decided (in final Jeopardy where the replies are written) they "Berry Gordy" is pronounced differently than "Barry Gordy"; 5/11/23, 9:36 AM
Breezy said...: Let’s just personalize, advertise, and immortalize the quote, ignore the pronunciation:

“Socialism of any type & shade leads to a total destruction of the human spirit.”; 5/11/23, 9:41 AM
Yancey Ward said...: Oh, for fuck's sake......; 5/11/23, 9:50 AM
Brian Johnson said...: Mayim said it wrong as well. I've always pronounced it like the Google version.; 5/11/23, 9:58 AM
who-knew said...: I saw that when it ws first broadcast I am firmly in the camp of those who think all 3 contestants were close enough. Give them all $1600. But I suppose like in sports, when the refs screw up all you can do is shrug and move on.; 5/11/23, 10:14 AM
n.n said...: Kyiv (Kiev) Founders Monument

Legend says that Kiev (Kyiv) was founded by three brothers Kyy, Khoryv, Shchek and their sister Lybid. To celebrate the 1500th anniversary of Kiev, on the 22nd May 1982 a forged copper monument was erected in Navodnytskyy Park next to the river Dnipro. It was made by a sculptor V.Z Boroday and an architect called M.M. Feshchenko.; 5/11/23, 10:17 AM
Rocco said...: I was there, to match my intellect, on national TV
Against a plumber, and an architect, both with a Ph.D
I was tense, I was nervous
I guess it just wasn't my night
Art Fleming gave the answers
Oh, but I couldn't get the questions right-ight-ight
- “I Lost on Jeopardy” by Al Yankovic; 5/11/23, 10:23 AM
Rocco said...: It’s pronounced “Fronkensteen”; 5/11/23, 10:25 AM
Rocco said...: It’s pronounced “Fronkensteen”; 5/11/23, 10:25 AM
Ann Althouse said...: If the first one to answer had said it like the third one did, maybe that would have been accepted, but after rejecting the first 2, which really were off, it wouldn't seem fair to say the third one is close enough. Better to act as though it's black and white than to have subtle opinions about shades of gray.; 5/11/23, 10:28 AM
n.n said...: black and white than to have subtle opinions about shades of gray

Black and white lack diversity. [50] shades of gray in color blocs is très chic.; 5/11/23, 10:36 AM
PM said...: Well, it's not like they had to spell it.; 5/11/23, 10:44 AM
Wince said...: Althouse said...
"Jeopardy" will never accomplish a total destruction of the human spirit, but..."

...sometimes you just have to, ahem, just Soldier-nitzen on to Final Jeopardy?; 5/11/23, 10:47 AM
gahrie said...: Better to act as though it's black and white than to have subtle opinions about shades of gray.

No, what would have been better, and what Alex would have done, is to understand that the first contestant gave the right answer and award them the points. It's not as if there is some other famous author who has a nearly identical name that they are confusing him with. The game is about knowledge not pedantry.; 5/11/23, 11:11 AM
gahrie said...: Answer For $500: He was an arrogant, ignorant dumbass who refused to invited Alexander Solzhenitsyn to the White House

Question: Who was Jerry Ford?

Aww come on, let's be fair here, Ford was never supposed to be president. By all accounts he was doing a great job of as a congressman, indeed his popularity in Congress was precisely why he was chosen. One day he's making deals in congress, the next he's running the country, without ever being elected to anything other than a seat in the House of Representatives. The true outrage of his presidency was the Democrats' refusal to return to the aid of South Vietnam when North Vietnam attacked them again.; 5/11/23, 11:19 AM
Ted said...: "Ken Jennings is usually more lenient on pronunciations. Bialik is a terrible host."

The host is not the final arbiter of whether a response is correct. If there's some ambiguity, behind-the-scenes judges will indicate a quick ruling with a green or red light. And if there's any question after that, they'll deliberate further -- and sometimes even halt the taping of the show for up to an hour -- which sometimes results in the score being changed later on.

That said, it's not surprising that Jennings, by most accounts the best "Jeopardy" player of all time, is better at making fast judgments when acting as host.; 5/11/23, 12:10 PM
Rafe said...: “Ken Jennings is usually more lenient on pronunciations. Bialik is a terrible host.”

She’s bad, but Ken Jennings is an overbearingly - and unjustifiably - smug prick who should be serving coffee at the local Boards & Brews. He’s Cliff Claven without the endearing charm or humanity.

- Rafe; 5/11/23, 1:13 PM
Pillage Idiot said...: I frequently work with middle school and high school kids on various volunteer projects. They are all mortified when they mispronounce a word in front of their friends.

I typically point out to the whole group that mispronouncing a word you have only READ is a sign of intelligence! Every smart person I know has a larger reading vocabulary than their speaking vocabulary.

The only people that never mispronounce words are shallow thinkers that merely parrot back the thin gruel they have heard on TV and in movies.; 5/11/23, 1:28 PM
Quaestor said...: "Usually, you are giving a pass on mispronunciation."

How long before Jeopardy rules on dead-naming?; 5/11/23, 1:42 PM
Donatello Nobody said...: Good point, Ted. I’m not a big fan of Jennings personally (he’s on the left politically, I believe, and can be an arrogant prick) but I think he does an excellent job as host. Notice how good he is at making small talk with guests during the meet-and-greet segment—he often comes up with something fairly witty and establishes a bit of a rapport. I really wanted to like Bialik—hers was definitely one of the better tryouts—but she just doesn’t seem confident enough to carry it off. In particular, her often lengthy pauses before confirming obviously correct responses are annoying.; 5/11/23, 2:30 PM
Big Mike said...: The smug is strong in Mayim Bialik. It’s how you can tell she’s a liberal.; 5/11/23, 2:37 PM
The Vault Dweller said...: I bet Aaron Rodgers would have found a way to deftly handle that.; 5/11/23, 5:51 PM
gspencer said...: Cut the shinola! They all got it.; 5/11/23, 5:53 PM
Nancy said...: At the height of the double dactyl craze, my sister wrote this one about VlaDImir NaBOkov:

Higgledy piggledy
Vladimir Nabokov
Has a legitimate
Reason to curse:
People pronounce his name
Un-Russifiedly
So it will fit in a
Dactylic verse.; 5/11/23, 6:55 PM
Stoutcat said...: "I'm not a Jeopardy watcher, is this how it always operates regarding correct pronunciation?"

As a former contestant on Jeopardy, the rules was explained as follows:
If a contestant adds extra syllables or drops syllables, or if a contestant adds letters that are not contained in the word or phrase in question, it is ruled incorrect.

Thus, an answer of SolzheNIKsyn would be wrong; as would Solzhitsyn. And all three of the contestants mangled the name in ways that were clearly incorrect.; 5/11/23, 9:40 PM