Over 400 Participants from Russia, Germany, and Turkey Engage in the International 'Adyghe Dictation

Approximately 400 individuals from Russia, Germany, and Turkey participated in the international "Adyghe Dictation." This educational event took place on March 14, coinciding with the Day of the Adyghe Language and Writing, which was established in 2000 to commemorate the publication of the first "ABC of the Circassian Language" in 1853, compiled by the Adyghe writer and educator Umar Bersay. The "Adyghe Dictation" has been organized by Adyghe State University since 2019, and this year it honored the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War and the 95th anniversary of esteemed Adyghe literary figure Ishak Mashbash.
 
Participants were able to write the dictation either in person at the Adyghe State University or online. Residents from Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, Krasnodar Krai, as well as compatriots from Germany and Turkey, took part in the dictation remotely. Approximately 300 people, aged 12 to 80, engaged in this educational initiative.
 
The chosen text for the dictation was an excerpt titled "Courage" from the novel "The Hundred and First Pass" by Ishak Mashbash, a distinguished writer from Adygea and the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, which reflects the moral strength of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War. The dictation was read by Svetlana Gish, an Honorary Worker of the Russian Federation in the Field of Education, and a winner of several competitions, including "Best Teacher of the Russian Federation" and "Best Teacher of the Republic of Armenia." She teaches the Adyghe language and literature at Maikop Gymnasium No. 5, named after Evgeny Schwartz.

According to Nuriyet Hamerzokova, the head of the Adyghe Philology Department at ASU and a PhD in Philology, who initiated the "Adyghe Dictation" campaign, participation was voluntary and could be done anonymously. Participants had the option to indicate a pseudonym on their submissions or use a symbol to later check their results after evaluation. Works were graded as "excellent" or "good," while the remaining submissions received feedback indicating the number of errors related to spelling, punctuation, and grammar, allowing participants to self-assess. The results of the dictation will be announced in a week and published on the ASU website.