Conference: International Linguistics Olympiad (2022)

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

Linguists conduct formal studies of the structure of the world’s over 6,000 languages, investigate the acquisition and use of language in typical and atypical populations, seek to understand the neural structures that enable humans to learn and use language, and create the language models used in computational contexts, such as artificial intelligence and machine translation. The breadth of the field’s applications makes it vital to technological and medical advancements, economic competitiveness in a global economy, humanitarian aid, and U.S. national security. This award will encourage high-school students’ engagement with linguistics and language science, and will help recruit them to pursue careers in this field of study. Since 2007, about twenty-five percent of US team members who attend the International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL) have continuing involvement with the fields of linguistics and language technologies after graduation: nearly all team members take linguistics courses in college, bringing a broadened view of language to their studies and future careers. This project will enable two teams of undergraduates to participate in the 2022 International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL). The project will introduce high school students to the field of linguistics and provide training to interested students and support to their teachers. In selecting and coaching the team of U.S. students that represent the country at the IOL, it will support the current work of the Linguistic Society of America in its focus on creating and promoting the teaching of an Advanced Placement course in linguistics for high school students. Specifically, the grant supports the costs associated with training a team of eight high school linguists from across the United States and escorting them to the 2022 IOL. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.