Lithuania holds its 16th national dictation event

Lithuania will hold its 16th annual National Dictation on Thursday, with participants writing simultaneously across the country, reports LRT.

The event begins at 11:00 local time, with participants gathering in libraries, municipalities, schools, community centres, and at home. The dictation text will be broadcast live on LRT Radio.

Organiser Vytautė Šmaižytė-Kuliešienė emphasised the event’s role in fostering unity. “It is always about people and their relationship with language,” she said. “Every spring, we receive countless questions about when the next dictation will be, so we are delighted to invite everyone to meet again at the dictation sheet.”

The best-performing participants will advance to a final round, where winners will be selected in three categories: most literate student, adult, and Lithuanian abroad. The tradition began in 2006 and now attracts tens of thousands of participants annually, including students, professionals, and Lithuanian communities overseas.

Each year, the dictation features a text by a Lithuanian author—last year’s was written by prose writer Birutė Jonuškaitė. The exercise typically lasts around 50 minutes, depending on text length.