The release of the translation of Irish novelist James Joyce's masterpiece "Ulysses" marks a major event in Estonia's literary and cultural world; Rummo has translated into Estonian a work that had long been considered untranslatable.

The novel, first published as a whole in 1922, condenses Irish history, core issues involving the Irish language and national identity as well as the personal experiences and reflections of its characters into a single day.

According to the jury, Andrejev, who interpreted the lyrics of 5miinust and Puuluup's 2024 Eesti Laul winner "(Nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea meie (küll) mitte midagi" into Estonian Sign Language (EVK), successfully conveyed not only the song's lyrics but also its emotions and musical experience. The translation of this song into EVK also contributed to raising broader awareness about the presence and importance of sign language in society.

Andrejev was also featured in the official Eurovision music video released Sunday for Tommy Cash's "Espresso Macchiato," the winning song of this year's Eesti Laul contest and Estonia's entry to the Eurovision Song Contest in May.

In the contest's public vote, the winner was followed by Kõnetoru's language stories on social media, packaging materials company Pakendikeskus' advertisements featuring a diverse use of language as well as Saan Targaks language school's Instagram posts.

Of the 33 candidates in the 2024 contest, the jury of ministers also gave honorable mentions to three other language deeds from last year.

The "Äädemeeste aabits" ("Häädemeeste Primer"), compiled and designed by Häädemeste High School student Rute Marie Maddison, is an introduction to the Häädemeeste dialect, and includes local texts, riddles, explanations of words as well as illustrations that allowed the author's artistic talents to shine. Maddison's work was supervised by art teacher Marika Ristmäe and school librarian Ave Varik.

In a fun and practical boon to students from Russian-language schools, Narva Pähklimäe School has been organizing its "Theme Year Language Rally" for a decade already, and last year's event was dedicated to Estonia's Cultural Diversity Year.

Last year also saw the establishment of the Estonian Language Center at the Tallinn University (TLÜ) School of Humanities under the leadership of Reili Argus. The new center supports the nationwide transition to Estonian-language education and coordinates research in the field.

Language found throughout modern media

Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200) praised the nominees for their efforts in teaching and enriching the Estonian language, and noted that last year's list of language deeds was impressively diverse.

"It's clear that information about the Estonian language is also reaching more modern media, such as podcasts and social media, and is spreading from there to younger language users," Kallas highlighted.

"To ensure the vitality of the language, we need to show young people that Estonian is alive, evolving and adapting to modern circumstances," the minister continued. "The more opportunities young people have to use Estonian in their everyday activities, such as using smartphones, apps and artificial intelligence (AI), the more likely they will continue using Estonian in other areas of life."

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