Competent oral and written speech does not lose its importance in the modern world. Knowledge of the native language allows you to accurately formulate your thoughts and convey your thoughts and feelings to the interlocutor. Realizing this, many native Russian speakers seek to hone their knowledge and close the gaps. In this they are helped by the annual educational campaign in the form of a voluntary dictation for everyone – “Total dictation”. How to take part in the project – in the material “Izvestia”.
Action “Total dictation”: what is it, goals and history
“Total Dictation” is an annual educational campaign, where participants can test their knowledge of the Russian language by writing a text from dictation. The organizer of the project is the Novosibirsk Fund “Total Dictation”. The public project is implemented by activists and volunteers.
Anyone can take part in the dictation. The action takes place once a year in the cities of Russia and the world. At the same time, you can participate in it both in person and in a remote format.
It is noteworthy that for each event a unique text is created, the writing of which allows you to evaluate how effectively the spelling rules are presented in educational materials. Famous writers are involved to create the text every year.
The first action took place on March 11, 2004 at Novosibirsk State University. The idea belonged to the students of the creative association “Glum Club”, who organized the event.
According to the organizers of the project, “Total Dictation” is designed to promote the value of literacy and the Russian language in general, as well as to unite the Russian-speaking community in Russia and the world.
At the same time, the dictation was conceived as a festive event, so the organizers are trying to maintain a playful rhetoric of the action, while not neglecting a serious approach to checking the work. One of the interesting traditions of the action is the habit of calling people who read out the text for dictation “dictators”.
“Total dictation” – 2023: date, where and when it will take place, author of the text
In 2023, the action will be held for the 20th time. The date of the event fell on April 8th.
Nizhny Tagil was chosen as the main city of the project in 2023. Voting for the capital of “Total Dictation” took place from January 18 to February 1 on the project website. Anyone could vote for one of four cities: Kaliningrad, Omsk, Murmansk or Nizhny Tagil.
It is in Nizhny Tagil that the main platform of the project will unfold: here the author himself will read his text. In addition, part of the online marathon will be held from a special studio, which will also be equipped in this city. The continuation of the large-scale educational campaign will be the Literacy Festival, which is held annually.
A unique text for the dictation in 2023 will be prepared by the writer and journalist Vasily Avchenko from Vladivostok. The material will be dedicated to the Russian traveler, researcher of the Far East Vladimir Arseniev.
Avchenko is a finalist for the Big Book, National Bestseller and NOS awards, and a laureate of the Far East All-Russian Literary Prize. Among the famous works of the writer are the book “Right Hand Drive”, the encyclopedia-guide “Globe of Vladivostok”, the collection of short stories “Crystal in a transparent frame” and others.
“Total dictation” – 2023: registration and time
A variety of formats for participation helps to expand the geography of the event. So, during registration, those who wish can choose one of the proposed sites to write a dictation in person. In addition, for the convenience of the participants, on April 8, different parts of the text will be read four times, depending on the time zones. This will also help to avoid leaking texts to the network before the start of the dictation.
Thus, the first part of the text will be read in the Far East, the second – in Siberia, the third – in the European part of Russia, and the fourth – in North and South America.
In the capital of Total Dictation, Nizhny Tagil, the event will begin at 13:00 local time.
If you wish, you can also test your knowledge of the language online – for this, the event will be broadcast online. At the same time, this format includes two options for participation: using a computer with automatic verification, as well as manual writing of the text with self-checking for online parsing.
Philologists, famous actors, musicians and athletes will read the text at the venues.
You can register for participation starting from March 30 on the Total Dictation website. There will be a list of sites with addresses. In some of them the number of places is limited.
The results of the dictation will also be posted on the event website in two weeks. Participants will be required to enter the code word found on the exam form.
On December 3, 2022, the All-Russian legal dictation took place, designed to study the level of legal literacy of citizens of the Russian Federation. As Izvestia wrote, the Russians were able to correctly answer only half of the questions on knowledge of legal norms.
