Of these, nearly 1,000 contained just one, two or three mistakes.

The full text of the 2024 e-dictation exercise was as follows:

Kas pole teps mitte kihvt, et haridus- ja teadusministeerium¹ paikneb Tartus Munga tänaval?

Seal, ülikooli peahoonest mõne kukesammu kaugusel² tuleb pedagoogikaalased otsused langetada kivisse raiutud imposantsete kultuuriheeroste märksa pilgu all.

Peeter Põllu, esimese haridusministri rühikas selg tuletab meelde koolmeistrite määravat osatähtsust ühiskonnas³ ning üksisilmi teineteist jälgivad Kreutzwald ja Kalevipoeg kõrvu oskarlutsuliku⁴ kaine literaadipilguga ei lase unustada eesti vaimuilma⁵ alusväärtusi.

Vahest peaks valitsusegi Stenbocki majast rahvusülikooli akadeemilisse mõjuvälja kupatama⁶ – nii oleks võimukandjatel ehk mahti ilmavaate turgutamiseks linnaraamatukogust kübekene tarkust nõutada või Tartu kunstimuuseumis⁷ kultustaieseid nautida.

Too Pisa torni sarnane majamürakas võib tekitada muidugi äraspidise tunde, et Emajõe Ateenas on alalõpmata midagi viltu.

Acceptable alternate spellings:

1. haridus- ja teadusministeerium or Haridus- ja Teadusministeerium

2. ...mõne kukesammu kaugusel tuleb... or ...mõne kukesammu kaugusel, tuleb...

3. ...koolmeistrite määravat osatähtsust ühiskonnas ning... or ...koolmeistrite määravat osatähtsust ühiskonnas, ning...

4. oskarlutsuliku / oskar-lutsuliku

5. eesti vaimuilma / Eesti vaimuilma

6. ...rahvusülikooli akadeemilisse mõjuvälja kupatama – or ...rahvusülikooli akadeemilisse mõjuvälja kupatama: or rahvusülikooli akadeemilisse mõjuvälja kupatama,

7. Tartu kunstimuuseumis or Tartu Kunstimuuseumis

Click here (link in Estonian) to listen to or watch this year's e-dictation text again, as well as for a thorough overview of Thursday's exercise text – including more detailed explanations about commonly made mistakes and tricky parts.

Winners

The winners of the 2024 e-dictation contest, who were the fastest in each category to submit the most correct text, were as follows:

• Brita Kaasik, overall winner, Estonian philologists
• Dorian Tamm, Tallinn High School No. 32, students
• Ralf Tambets, adults
• Vera Rõika, non-native speakers
• Edith Maasik, Estonians living abroad
• Teet Kallaste, video dictation for hard of hearing
• Margit Kerov, smartphone entries

In all, a combined 10,864 entries were received by Vikerraadio within the contest's half-hour submission window Thursday morning.

Increasingly popular tradition

What had initially been intended as a one-off event, Thursday's marked Vikerraadio's 17th live e-dictation exercise, having grown over the years into one of the most anticipated events celebrating Native Language Day each year.

In addition to individuals both across and even outside of Estonia, hundreds of schools as well as growing numbers of companies, organizations and institutions take part in the live writing exercise each year.

This year, writers were put to the test with a five-sentence text that "looks at key issues in education policy from a cultural history perspective."

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.

This year's e-dictation exercise text was compiled by:

• Joosep Susi, junior lecturer of literature didactics and Estonian literature at Tallinn University (TLÜ);
• Peeter Päll, chief language planner, Institute of the Estonian Language (EKI);
• Maire Raadik, senior language planner at EKI;
• Helika Mäekivi, chairperson of the Estonian Association of Copy-editors (EKL) and language adviser at the University of Tartu (TÜ);
• Merilin Aruvee, lecturer of L1 didactics at TLÜ;
• Helin Kask, language policy adviser at the Ministry of Education and Research;
• Piret Kriivan, "Keelesaade" author, managing editor at Vikerraadio.

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.

The e-dictation exercise was organized by Vikerraadio together with the Institute of the Estonian Language and the Ministry of Education and Research.

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