January 17, 2019
Test your analytical skills at the North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Local high school and junior high students can test their analytical and language skills by competing in the upcoming North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad. The internationally organized event provides young people the opportunity to explore the complexity of language by solving a variety of puzzles based on authentic linguistic phenomena, all in a competitive and fun environment.
The competition is hosted by the linguistics department at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and is set for Jan. 24 on the SIU campus. SIU is one of many host sites in North America, all linked electronically throughout the event.
Open to high school and junior high students
High school and junior high students ages 13-19 are eligible to participate in the free competition. Registration is available online or at the door, with check-in beginning at 8:45 a.m. on Jan. 24 at Faner Hall 1006 (doors will open at 8:30).
Contestants compete by solving unique linguistics and computational linguistics puzzles that are all solvable with analytical reasoning alone. No prior training or foreign language skills are necessary, but example questions are available online.
Competition helps students find new opportunities, while honing their analytical skills
This is the fourth year for SIU to host the unique competition. Vicki Carstens, chair of the linguistics department, hopes the event provides students with new opportunities and ideas they may not have known about.
The NACLO competition helps bring awareness of linguistics to high school students. Linguistics as a field has not traditionally been taught at the high school levels, but this is something that is starting to develop and change, Carstens explained.
“The competition is fun and challenging,” Carstens said. “Students can discover whether they have interest and aptitude in problem-solving and linguistic analysis, which opens up the possibility of working in linguistics, computer science, language technologies or other similar fields.”
Winners advance to national and international competitions
About 1,500 students will compete in the open round across the U.S. and Canada, with the top 10 percent of students moving on to the national invitational round scheduled for March 7. The top eight students from that competition will go on to represent the U.S. at the international competition in South Korea, which is one of twelve international high school science Olympiads.
For more information, contact Vicki Carstens at 618/453-3418.