Workshop: International Computational Linguistics Olympiad 2017

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

The study of human language unlocks the deepest mysteries of the working of the human mind and the most important aspects of societal interaction. Yet high school students are typically unaware of the field of linguistics as the scientific study of human language, and while they may study a foreign language, they may not be aware of the structure and diversity of human languages in general. In addition, language technologies play an increasing role in daily life in the form of speech-based technologies and text mining of information from unstructured data. High school students are typically unaware of how to pursue careers in these important industries. The North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad (NACLO) is targeted at high school students with an interest in human language, mathematics, and analytical reasoning. It introduces aspects of human language and computation via puzzles that do not require background knowledge. NACLO has been operating since 2007 and is available to all high school students in the US and Canada, without registration fees or academic prerequisites. Each year the eight top-scoring students from NACLO in the US meet to train together and then travel to the International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL). In 2017, after a training session at MIT, the US team will travel to Dublin, Ireland to compete with teams from 30 other countries. The IOL serves as a capstone international experience for the winners of NACLO, allowing the team members to compete and interact with other students who share their talents and interests.