University Dictation for the Eighth Time. More Difficult Than in Previous Editions

85 people wrote a university dictation on Friday (June 6). The level was high, the text prepared by the jury quite difficult - as many participants admit.

It was the 8th edition of the University Dictation organized for 10 years by the University of Szczecin. The jury was headed by Professor Ewa Kołodziejek, a linguist from the Institute of Linguistics of the University of Szczecin. She, together with the other members of the committee - also experts in Polish - prepared the text of this year's dictation. It concerned travel and contained many geographical names, but it also included scientific terms related to history, law, archeology, and linguistics.

- It seems to me that this type of undertaking is an extremely important thing - said prof. Renata Podgórzańska, Vice-Rector for Education at the University of Szczecin. - Especially in a situation when we as a society have more and more problems with observing the rules of spelling. It would seem that this is something natural for us. After all, we use the Polish language every day. After all, we use correct pronunciation, correct spelling, at least it seems so to us. Such events are very important, in the era of language simplification, when we increasingly use abbreviations, write in computer programs that correct punctuation and spelling errors for us. This causes these skills to disappear somewhere. That is why we need to appreciate such initiatives for promoting this clean and correct spelling.

The dictation began at 11 a.m. Registration of participants began at 10 a.m.

- My husband convinced me to do it because he is a university employee - explains Mrs. Irena, one of the participants of the University Dictation. - And in the old, old days, when I was still studying at the academic level, I also took part in such competitions. It was many years ago and I would like to see now if I can repeat my success or test my abilities. Especially since the written word is increasingly being replaced by computer printouts.

- A colleague from work talked me into it - says Mrs. Agnieszka. - This is my first time taking part in a dictation. I think my spelling is going well. I came to test myself.

- I'm taking part for the first time, but I'm from Ukraine, so I just wanted to try my hand at it - says Mrs. Waleria. - I've been living here for four years and I thought it would be an interesting test to see what I can do, if I'm good at it. I was talented in Ukrainian, so now I want to test myself in Polish.

The participant said that the Polish language is not particularly difficult for her: - I think it is not difficult, that is why it is such a challenge for me. If the results are worse than I expect, then I will be sad.

The participants finished writing shortly before 12 noon. Many found the text difficult.

- This year the dictation was more difficult than last year. Last year there were more borrowings from English, and since I study English, it was easier for me. This time there were a lot of words from French. And that was a slight problem - assessed one of the people.

More on this topic in “Kurier Szczeciński” and eKurier from 9/06/2025.

Agata Jankowski

Read the content of the university dictation 2025