Message to Urbi et Orbi: Total Dictation as Cultural Project

The report reviews Total Dictation as a cultural educational project of the new generation being implemented at the intersection of traditional for Russia book culture and present-day Internet space. Today Total Dictation is held in 81 countries of the world. The author reviews Total Dictation not only as a tool strengthening positions of Russian literary language but also as a mechanism developing readers' taste to author's text and popularization of contemporary native writers. Secondary texts, so-called reposts take a significant place in reading of a present-day reader. That is why author's works created particularly for Total Dictation by masters of words are especially important for participants due to first-hand view of the world and uniqueness of creative writing. The aim of the research is to analyze the proposed for dictation fictional formats as an integral message to the world. Context of a dialogue known beforehand gives a chance to Russian writers to openly declare their own attitude, think of the fate of the language and people directly addressing participants of the project. It is this primacy, spontaneity and confidence that become an important value to the people living today in the world of secondary and more and more intermediate no-address messages. Content and format of the project are arranged in such a way that out of respect for the Russian language emerges understanding of deep ties of a man with history and culture, with soil and destiny of Russia. This idea is clearly and expressly articulated by modern native writers in the texts of dictations, which become part of a serious talk about Man's destiny and a reminder of inviolability of the nation' cultural code. Ever-increasing magnitude of this annual event in Russia and abroad, interest in it of the general public point to the fact that voluntary testing literacy campaign, which emerged on the initiative of NSTU - NETI students and professors turned today into a big cultural and educational project based on the interest and responsible attitude of the people to their mother tongue. As for the social movement itself, which brought together writers, critics, philologists, journalists, volonteers and Total Dictation participants, it has become the authoritative source of professional judgments about artistic creativity and the factor with a significant impact on building up literary reputation of modern writers. Emergence and development of such projects demonstrate an important and essential trend demanded by society of today of turning a human-being from a consumer of cultural values into an active participant of cultural processes.

Keywords

Authors

References