Language is always in flux, we’re told, but sometimes the changes are deeply pernicious. Take the word “process,” which now sticks like clingwrap to nouns that used to stand proudly alone. For example ...

OXON HILL, Md. — As the final pre-competition meeting of the Scripps National Spelling Bee’s word selection panel stretches into its seventh hour, the pronouncers no longer seem to care. Before ...