Cultural Heritage Research Journal

Language as a part of culture. Is it trendy to be good at your mother tongue?

Arina Govorina

Languages surround us everywhere. We start learning them since the first day of life. We study languages at schools and universities, we buy dictionaries and attend private classes to learn a foreign language. According to Eurostat, more than 80 % of the adult working-age population of the EU knows at least one foreign language. Sometimes we pay much more attention to learning a foreign language rather than to our mother tongue. Moreover, moving abroad or modern electronic devices with autocorrect option can make us forget even basic grammar of our native language. Fortunately, these days a lot of cultures try to attract native speakers to their mother tongue with different competitions and dictations which aim is to draw attention to issues of literacy and literature writing.

Scripps National Spelling Bee, USA

Since 1925 this project originated in the United States is aimed to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives. Although most of its participants are teenagers from the U.S., students from countries such as The Bahamas, Canada, the People's Republic of China, India, Ghana, Japan, Jamaica, Mexico, and New Zealand have also competed in recent years. Usually, the test contains several rounds and can be held at regional and national levels. Contestants are asked to spell a broad selection of words, usually with a varying degree of difficulty.

The eight co-champions of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, 2019

This type of language contest is becoming popular. From only nine contestants in 1925 to 565 participants in 2019! From 500 dollars to 5000 dollars for the first place prize! Also, the idea of spelling bee has spread in the whole world. These days similar tests are also held in some other countries such as Kenya, South Africa, Malaysia, Australia and many others.

Total dictation, Russia

Another interesting language contest takes place in Russia and called Total Dictation. This annual voluntary Russian language literacy test aims to show that it is important to be literate and learning Russian is not easy but exciting and rewarding. Also, one of the main goals of the test is to unite everyone who knows or wants to write and speak Russian. The first test was held in one Siberian city, Russia and had only few contestants who were local university students. It was a great start and now Total Dictation takes place in more than 80 countries with around 230000 participants every year! People can take the test in the middle of April at universities, schools, libraries, online platforms and even during a flight!

People taking language test on board, 2017

Usually, the text for the test is written by Russian famous philologists, poets or modern writers. Everybody who wants to check his grammar skills can join the event and examine his literacy. One person who is "dictating" speaks and another who is "taking dictation" writes down the words as they are spoken. Before the test online and offline free language courses are available for everybody who wants to prepare for the contest or to refresh his grammar skills. Also, there is an annual award ceremony to reward people with the best test results.

No cheating, please!

As current research says, Total Dictation is becoming more and more popular and the number of participants is increasing every year. Total Dictation sponsors promote it through social networks and attract a lot of people of different age and occupation who have already become interested in literacy and their mother tongue.

 Kanji Kentei, Japan

Another language test is called The Japan Kanji Aptitude Test. This is a proficiency test intended for native speakers with 12 possible levels approved by the Japanese Ministry of Education. The test examines not only one's ability to read and write logographic characters that are used in the Japanese writing system. Also, it checks one's ability to understand their meanings, to use them correctly in sentences, and to identify their correct stroke order. Although the test was originally developed for native Japanese speakers, non-native speakers may also take the tests.

Taking language test in Japan

It examines cultural and social knowledge, vocabulary and grammar, listening and reading skills. The test is challenging and not free of charge. However, it is popular among Japanese students who want to obtain a language certificate and make a career in business.

To sum up, literacy tests are popular nowadays. More and more people are getting involved in these projects for different reasons. However, the main interest still is a strong desire to understand and appreciate our history and culture through perfect language skills.

Are you good at your native language? Are there any language contests in your country?