Draft:National Dictation of Lithuania



The National Dictation of Lithuania is an international literacy competition for adults and schoolchildren. The main goal of the organisers is to encourage people to be proud of the Lithuanian language and to speak and write it correctly. The National Dictation Contest is a an opportunity for everyone in Lithuania to test their literacy. Since 2006, the National Dictation competition has been consistently cooperating with variety of state institutions responsible for language policy, such as Commission of the Lithuanian Language, State Language Inspectorate, Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Education and Science.

Traditionally dictation is broadcast through the radio, and writing itself is conducted at public libraries, municipal halls, educational institutions and workplaces.

There are two rounds of the competition, so there are two dictations each year. The texts are prepared in cooperation with the Commission of the Lithuanian Language. Participants compete in several categories: the most literate pupil, the most literate adult and the most literate foreign Lithuanian. The competition is not open to professional Lithuanian language experts (until 2009, schoolchildren were not allowed to participate). Dictations can be written in all municipalities, schools and libraries. Foreign Lithuanians can write their dictation in Lithuanian embassies. It has become a tradition for some Lithuanian communities to write the dictation independently. On the day of the competition, foreign Lithuanian communities have the opportunity to receive a LRT radio broadcast and write the dictation at a time convenient for them. Dictation can also be written at home and sent to the organisers by post. Those who write independently cannot compete for the title of the most literate. In 2014, more than 7,000 people wrote the dictation.

Customarily the finalists of competition with least amount of mistakes made are awarded Certificates of Appreciation by the President of Lithuania at Presidential Palace.