Record 10,900 entries received in Estonia's 2023 e-dictation contest

A total of 10,890 entries were received by Vikerraadio in its annual Native Language Day live e-dictation contest this year, smashing the previous record of more than 10,000 set in 2021.
Of these, 432 entries were deemed flawless, and nearly a thousand more contained just one or two mistakes.
The full text of the 2023 e-dictation exercise was as follows:
Üks modernne suunamudija kirjutas hiljaaegu Facebookis1, et Artur Alliksaare sajanda2 sünniaastapäeva puhul võiks noorte laulu- ja tantsupidu alata mõne alliksaarelikus vaimus levimuusikapalaga.3
Nojah, päris naljakas, kui ühendkoor ülistaks liikumisaastat omamoodi hääldusharjutusega, esitades lugu "Kindlameelse kinglooma kimbatus kingapoes".
Praegu, nagu me teame,4 süüdatakse laulupidude tuli Mihkel Lüdigi laulu "Koit" saatel, mille sõnad olevat Friedrich Kuhlbars kirjutanud lauluseltsis Koit5 umbes veerand tunniga.6
Mainitud seltsi loomise ja nime idee sündis Võrtsjärve-äärses kõrtsis, kus koduteel peatunud laulupidulised mekkisid kesvamärjukest ja nägid idataevas punetama löönud koitu.
Alliksaare poeesiat repertuaaris igatahes ei ole, aga "Olematus võiks ju ka olemata olla", nagu7 kõlab literaadi postuumselt ilmunud luulekogu pealkiri.
Acceptable alternate spellings:
- Facebookis or Facebook'is
- sajanda or 100.
- levimuusikapala or levimuusika pala
- Praegu, nagu me teame, süüdatakse... or Praegu – nagu me teame – süüdatakse...
- lauluseltsis "Koit" or lauluseltsis Koit
- veerand tunniga or veerandtunniga
- "Olematus võiks ju ka olemata olla", nagu kõlab... or "Olematus võiks ju ka olemata olla" – nagu kõlab... or olematus võiks ju ka olemata olla, nagu kõlab... or olematus võiks ju ka olemata olla – nagu kõlab
Hosted by Vikerraadio for the 16th time on Tuesday, Estonia's e-dictation exercise is one of the most anticipated annual events to mark Native Language Day on March 14. Hundreds of schools as well as growing numbers of companies, organizations and institutions take part in the live nationwide writing exercise each year.
This time, the text of the exercise that put writers to the test was inspired by the Youth Song and Dance Festival, the 2023 Year of Movement and poet Artur Alliksaar, and organizers invited Song and Dance Festival performers specifically to mark themselves as such on the e-dictation exercise submission page.
Participants were encouraged to submit photos of people taking part in this year's e-dictation to [email protected] and tag photos shared on social media with the hashtag #vikerraadioetteütlus.

The e-dictation entry form went live online at 10 a.m. Estonian time (UTC+2), and remained open through 11 a.m. The text of the exercise was recited live on air on Vikerraadio, several times in a row, starting at 10:25 a.m.
The e-dictation page was also adapted for use by blind and low-vision participants, and deaf and hard of hearing participants could participate via a video version of this year's text released simultaneously on ERR.ee.
This year's e-dictation text was compiled by:
- Joosep Susi, Estonian literature PhD student at the University of Tartu (TÜ) and junior lecturer of literature didactics and Estonian literature at Tallinn University (TLÜ);
- Peeter Päll, chief language planner, Institute of the Estonian Language (EKI);
- Helika Mäekivi, senior language planner, EKI;
- Merilin Aruvee, lecturer of L1 didactics, TLÜ;
- Triin Toome, Estonian language and literature teature, Rocca al Mare School's Vodja Individual Study Center;
- Sirli Zupping, adviser, Language Policy Department at the Ministry of Education and Research;
- Piret Kriivan, "Keelesaade" author, managing editor, Vikerraadio.
The e-dictation exercise was organized by Vikerraadio together with the Institute of the Estonian Language and the Ministry of Education and Research.

Not the first Song Festival-themed text
The text of Vikerraadio's 12th e-dictation exercise was Song Festival-themed in 2019 as well, as the country celebrated both the Year of Estonian Language and the 150th anniversary of the first Estonian Song Festival, which was held in Tartu in 1869.
Nearly 8,000 submissions were received that year, of which 59 entries were deemed flawless and many more contained just one or two mistakes.
The full text of the 2019 e-dictation exercise was as follows:
Aitäh, kaasmaalane, et pärast mitmendat-setmendat korda "Tõe ja õiguse" vaatamist ärksalt e-etteütlust kirjutad,1 tähistamaks riigikeele ning laulupeo juubelit!2
Laulu- ja tantsupeole soovivad kõik, olgu nad nii-öelda euroaastal3 sündinud kooliuusikud, kes lauluväljakul4 veel hästi ei orienteeru, või Välis-Eesti5 tantsurühmad, kes Kalevi6 keskstaadionil "Tuljakut"7 esitades ühekorraga kodumaaigatsust8 ja jällenägemise rõõmu9 tunnevad.
Kas üle-eestiline10 juubelipidu "Minu arm"11 kuulub rahvusringhäälingu enim vaadatud12 saadete hulka, on heinakuu alguseni teadmata.
"Laula ja hõiska!" hüüab debütant dirigendipuldis, kui gustavernesaksalikku13 segakoorilaulu14 juhatab ja enamik lauljaid vaid ümiseb, pilgud laulutaadi15 mälestussambal.
Acceptable alternate spellings:
- The comma before the word "tähistamaks" is not required.
- The first sentence may be punctuated with either a full stop or an exclamation point.
- euroaasta / euro aasta
- lauluväljakul / Lauluväljakul
- Välis-Eesti / väliseesti
- Kalevi / "Kalevi"
- "Tuljakut" / tuljakut
- kodumaaigatsust / kodumaa igatsust
- jällenägemise / jälle nägemise
- üle-eestiline / üleeestiline
- "Minu arm" / Minu Arm
- enim vaadatud / enimvaadatud
- gustavernesaksalikku / gustav-ernesaksalikku
- segakoorilaulu / segakoori laulu
- laulutaadi / Laulutaadi
Native Language Day is celebrated in Estonia on March 14, marking the birthday of Estonian poet Kristjan Jaak Peterson, a key figure in the emergence of Estonian national literature and regarded as the father of modern Estonian poetry, who died in 1822 at the age of 21.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla