What's it all About?

The All Ireland Linguistics Olympiad (AILO) is a contest in which secondary school students develop their own strategies for solving problems in fascinating real languages from around the globe.

Students must use their ingenuity to solve Puzzles such as deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics; interpreting Tenji, the Japanese equivalent of Braille; and writing the names of football teams in Chinese.

No prior knowledge of linguistics or a second language is required: even the hardest problems require only logical ability, patient work, and a willingness to think around corners.

AILO introduces students to linguistics (i.e. the study of human language) and to the application of logic to problems of language understanding and translation. The goal is to develop students' problem solving skills and to inspire them to consider the fascinating range of Careers at the intersection of language, linguistics and computing.

Key dates:

First round - Week of 30th January (flexible) in your own school.

AILO Final - Tuesday 20th March 2012 in Dublin City University.

ILO International Finals (top four students) - July 2012 in Slovenia

The History

Since the mid-1960s, problem-solving competitions in linguistics for secondary school students have been taking place, mainly in Russia, Bulgaria and other eastern European countries. In more recent years the idea of linguistics olympiads has spread to western Europe, North America, Australia and Asia. Winners of these competitions qualify for the International Linguistics Olympiad, which has taken place annually since 2003.

The All Ireland Linguistics Olympiad was established in 2009 and Ireland has competed in the International Linguistics Olympiad since then. AILO's appeal to both students and teachers means that it has grown quickly and drawn more than 650 competitors to date.

Who is Eligible

All second level students from schools in Ireland, both North and South, are eligible to participate. Although the majority of competitors to date have been in Transition Year, the challenge can be taken by students at any stage in their second level studies.

AILO Timeline

The AILO season runs from September to March. You can register until 20th January 2012 and sharpen your problem-solving skills by working on sample puzzles with monthly sample sets. The first round of the competition will be held in participating schools the week of the 30th of January 2012 (flexible). The top 100 students qualify to compete in individual and team categories at the national finals of AILO, which will be hosted on Tuesday 20th March 2012 at Dublin City University.

The four top students in the individual category of the All Ireland Linguistics Olympiad (AILO) are selected to represent Ireland at the International Linguistics Olympiad in Slovenia in July 2012.

AILO is co-ordinated by The Centre for Next Generation Localisation (CNGL), a major multi-disciplinary academia-industry research centre funded by Science Foundation Ireland and based at Dublin City University, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin and University of Limerick. Researchers at CNGL are producing advances in how computer adapt and personalise software and digital content, including computer games, to different languages and cultures.