top of page
Writer's pictureSophia Behar

April Reflections

Since a very young age, I have loved logic and problem-solving. When my parents used to take me to the library in Singapore, I would invariably walk out of the building with a mystery book under my arm. Agatha Christie was my favourite author, and I would spend hours trying to utilise the different hints carefully placed throughout her novels to decipher the mysteries. Similarly, the moment I discovered the North American Computational Linguistics Open Competition (NACLO), I was drawn towards it because of its problem-solving component.

 

NACLO is a contest aimed at high school students in North America that was launched in 2006, where participants solve a series of linguistics puzzles. Its organising committee members are from North America’s top universities. There are two rounds: the Open Round, which is accessible to everyone who wishes to take part and marked solely based on final answers, and the Invitational Round, for the top contestants from the Open Round. The Invitational Round is also used to select who will represent team USA and team Anglophone Canada at the International Linguistics Olympiad. Interestingly, unlike many math or physics contests, no prior knowledge is necessary – it is all about creative thinking and approaching each problem in a unique manner. Personally, however, I felt that being able to notice connections between the languages I already speak and languages explored in the contest - most of which I had never heard of before – made the experience even more interesting! As you work through the paper, in addition to solving puzzles, you get the chance to learn more about various unique languages from around the world, some of which are only spoken by a few hundreds of people. Take Question B of the 2023 Round 1 paper for example. It is all about the stress system of Ho-Chunk, a language spoken by only 250 people in Iowa, Wisconsin and Nebraska, USA. I researched further after and found that, interestingly, there are quite a few spellings for this language’s name since it was originally unwritten.


In January 2024, I took part in the Open Round of the contest. I really enjoyed the process of unravelling mysteries in the moment and was super excited to find out that I qualified for the Invitational Round in March, where you not only get to solve more tricky linguistics problems, but certain questions now ask you to explain your reasoning and the patterns you discovered as well. This adds a new layer of depth and complexity to the problems, by ensuring that you truly understand the solutions you provide. Beyond this, it helps you clarify your thinking and approach to linguistics, which can be used for real life applications of the field.

 

Overall, NACLO is an extremely fun contest that differs from typical competitions, offering a unique opportunity to dive into problem solving and linguistic exploration. Each and every problem approaches a different aspect of the subject, whether it is syntax, phonetics, or morphology, as well as computational linguistics, exposing participants to the intricacies of language at a young age, and fostering a deep appreciation for the field of linguistics. I cannot wait to take part again next year, and if you are someone that is fascinated by languages or problem solving, I encourage you to participate too!

 

Find out more about the contest at: https://naclo.org/.


Credit: University of Toronto


Works Cited


“2024 Student Handbook.” NACLO, www.naclo.org/2024/2024NACLOStudenthandbook.pdf. Accessed 30 Apr. 2024.


“Ho-Chunk.” Multilingualism and Education in Wisconsin, www.teachlangwisconsin.com/hochunk#:~:text=

The%20reason%20for%20all%20the. Accessed 30 Apr. 2024.

 

bottom of page