Ukrainian Language Day, 9 November 2006
A day marked by a dictation that the whole country writes at once.
The custom on this day is a radio dictation. A text is read out, the country writes it down, and afterwards a great many people discover they have been spelling something wrong for thirty years.
I like that it is a test nobody has to take and enormous numbers of people take anyway, and that the mood around it is cheerful rather than anxious.
A language that its speakers will voluntarily sit an exam in on a Thursday morning is in reasonable health.
Happy Ukrainian Language and Writing Day.
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