Native Language Day: Nearly 6,400 entries received in dictation exercise

In honor of Native Language Day on Wednesday, Vikerraadio hosted the 11th nationwide e-dictation contest, in which a prepared text was read on the air at 10:30 a.m., and listeners from all over the country as well as abroad were able to submit their texts online or in writing to be scored for accuracy.
This year, Vikerraadio received a record 6,377 submissions, including 6,127 texts submitted online, 250 handwritten texts submitted via photo and one handwritten text dropped off in person at the studio in Tallinn.
This year's dictation text was the longest yet, and just 21 of the thousands of submissions received were written entirely correctly, down from 37 flawless entries last year. Many submissions, however, included just one or two flaws.
2018 e-diction text
Tänapäeval külastaks Tammsaare kui kuurortides käija igal juhul modernset spaakeskust, uurides pärast massaaži ka oma šedöövrite retseptsiooni 21. sajandi1 vargamäelikus tööühiskonnas.
Peas tohuvabohu, mekkis eksaminand heade mõtete linna kuulsaimas bistroos singi-juustu-küüslaugutäidisega2 bataati, silme ees lugemata hitt-teosed3, ja unistas laenutustähtaegadeta raamatukogust.
Lavastuste sari "Sajandi lugu" ühendab vastastikku teatreid, mis pakuvad peale vaba aja veetmise võimaluse ka pika kõlblikkusajaga vaimutoitu.
"Jannsen, Jakobson," ütles aasta tegijast noorkotkas vanalinlikus hoones toimunud väitlusel, "ei teadnud e-aabitsast ega e-koolist midagi, vaid veensid igameest4, et rahvustunne, mis maitseb nagu rukkileib rõõsakoorevõiga5, rajaneb kirjaoskusel."
Acceptable alternate spellings:
- 21. sajandi or XXI sajandi
- singi-juustu-küüslaugutäidisega or singi-juustu-küüslaugu täidisega
- hitt-teosed or hittteosed
- rõõsakoorevõiga or rõõsa koore võiga
- iga mees or igameest
Winners
The winners of the e-dictation contest, who were the fastest in each category to submit the most correct text, were as follows:
- Rudolf Purge, overall winner, adults
- Tiina Laansalu, Estonian philologists
- Saskia Saara Simisker (International School of Estonia, teacher Maren Toom), students
- Olga Gerassimmenko, non-native speakers
- Riita Märka, Estonians living abroad
The fastest and most correct submission via smart device was for the second year in a row Riina Tobias, who typed her text on her smartphone.
Increasing accessibility
People who are hard of hearing were encouraged to participate as well, with the dictation text being released in video format online at ERR.ee in conjunction with its reading on the air for the first time.
Veteran radio announcer Urve Koni read the text on the air, while "Aktuaalne kaamera" host Monika Tamla read the text on video.
The e-dictation exercise is organized by Vikerraadio, the Association of Estonian Language Teachers and the Institute of the Estonian Language.
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.
Editor: Aili Vahtla