1 the uk linguistics olympiad richard hudson ismla oxford, feb 2011
TRANSCRIPT
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The UK Linguistics Olympiad
Richard Hudson
ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011
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Plan
1. How it works2. Some example problems3. Educational benefits4. Past, present and future5. Independent and state schools6. Boys and girls7. Age8. Practicalities
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1. How it works
• Round 1 (early Feb)– sat in schools– two levels:
• Foundation level• Advanced level
• Round 2 (late March)– a two-day residential selection process
• International Linguistics Olympiad (July)
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2. Some example problems
• Foundation level: Abma– discover vocabulary and syntax in easy data
• Foundation/Advanced level: Turkish– discover 'vowel harmony'
• Advanced level: Tangkhul– discover vocabulary and syntax in hard data
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Foundation level: Abma
Mwamni sileng. He drinks water.
Nutsu mwatbo mwamni sileng. The child keeps drinking water.
Nutsu mwegau. The child grows.
mwamni, sileng = drinks/drinking or water
nutsu = the child mwatbo = keeps mwegau = grows
Foundation level: Abma
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‘Water’ = mwamni or sileng?Nutsu mwatbo mwegalgal.
Mworob mwabma.
Mwerava Mabontare mwisib.
Nutsu mwatbo mwegalgal.
Mworob mwabma.
Mwerava Mabontare mwisib.
Mabontare mwisib.
Mweselkani tela mwesak.
Mwelebte sileng mwabma.
Mabontare mworob mwesak.
Sileng mworob.
The child keeps crawling.
He runs here.
He pulls Mabontare.
The child keeps crawling.
He runs here.
He pulls Mabontare down.
Mabontare goes down.
He carries the axe up.
He brings water.
Mabontare runs up.
The water runs.
sileng = water mwamni = drinks/drinking
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Foundation and Advanced: Turkish
ikbalsiz
isimsiz
sonsuz
takatsiz
sütsüz
parasız
unsuccessful
nameless
endless
lacking strength
lacking milk
cashless
Question: Here are two more Turkish words: dil (language), kalıp (form, shape). How would you translate (a) mute (b) shapeless?
NB No dot!!
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‘lacking’ = siz, suz, …
ikbalsiz
isimsiz
sonsuz
takatsiz
sütsüz
parasız
unsuccessful
nameless
endless
lacking strength
lacking milk
cashless
Why does the vowel keep changing?
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A nasty twist
• Two of the words don’t follow the regular pattern.– because they’re borrowed from another language.– BUT we don’t know which two!
• So you’re looking for a rule that – explains most of the cases– that (hopefully) makes sense– but that doesn’t apply to two of the words.
• So you have to look globally for a general trend– and hope the exceptions will stand out.
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Advanced: Tangkhul
• Structure of problem:– 9 sentences in Tangkhul– 9 sentences in English that translate them.– but in a different order!
• Challenge:– Work out which E sentences translate which
T sentences– and which E words translate which T words!
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For instance
• Tangkhul:– (a) a masikserra.– (b) āni masikngarokei – (c) āthum masikngarokngāilā
• English:– (1) Do they want to pinch each other?– (2) Do you(sg) see it?– (3) Have you(pl) all come?
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3. Educational benefits
• Children enjoy it.– "Although our students didn't make it to the
next round … they - and I - enjoyed the experience, and we look forward to next year's competition."
– "This is really the first time that I've seen students actually get so involved in working out how languages work. It really is brilliant!!"
• But it's also good for their minds.
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Good mind-training
Olympiad work requires:• formal analysis (pattern-spotting) applied to
language • long chains of reasoning• persistence• creativity• attention to fine detail• attention to the broad picture• confidence
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Language awareness
• Olympiad work requires some intuitive understanding of how languages work– e.g. rules may be sensitive to phonology.
• It also teaches:– the diversity of languages– the interest of language structure
• Some problems involve French or even English.
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A tool for language teaching?
• Guided discovery learning
• Example: French ma ~ mon – ma mère ~ mon école ~ mon ancienne amie– Give some examples as data– Let students induce the generalisation– Give feedback– Let them expand the generalisation to include
other pronouns and la ~ l'
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4. Past, present and future
Past• 1960s: first Linguistics Olympiad
– in Moscow, then St Petersburg and Bulgaria– a UK school once sent a team to Moscow
• 2003 first International Linguistics Olympiad– in Bulgaria– 20010 26 teams from 18 countries
• 2009 UKLO created
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Present
• UKLO is part of a consortium of English-speaking countries– USA, Canada, Australia, Ireland, UK– purpose: to produce test papers– very hard!
• UKLO organises the competitions– and raises funds for round 2 and ILO– maybe we'll host ILO in 2013?
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Future
• Our aim is:– to promote analytical language study in
schools– NOT recruitment for BA Linguistics– NOT medals at ILO
• 2010 (our first year):– 600 pupils, 50 schools
• 2011: 900 pupils, 69 schools
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5. Independent and state schools
• Independent schools perform much better• 2010, Advanced level:
entries winners (to round 2)
independent 230 11
state 170 1
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So what?
• Well done independent schools!– Round 2 winners were really smart.
• But: why do state schools do so poorly?• This is a major concern for UKLO:
– as citizens– as fund raisers
• So state schools are our main target– for recruitment– for support
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Our patron
• Christine Ohuruogu– MBE– Olympic gold-medalist,
200 metres– BA Linguistics, UCL
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6. Boys and girls
• In 2010, boys and girls were roughly equal in numbers:– F-level: B = 68, G = 67, ? = 67 (B = G)– A-level: B = 233, G = 173 (B > G)– ILO teams: B = 4, G = 4 (B = G)
• BUT ILO awards:– B = 4, G = 0!
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Boys and girls at ILO
• All countries, 2008-10– all awards for individuals:– B = 99, G = 38 – Why?
• But compare the Int Maths Olympiad– 2010 gold/silver: B = 144, G = 7!!!
• So at least girls perform better in linguistics than in maths
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Something for everyone
• UKLO 'brings girls into science'– they're as good as boys at formal analysis– and they enjoy it.
• UKLO 'brings boys into languages'– they're as good as girls at analysing language– and they enjoy it.– "…we had 41 boys who took part and "battled" in
earnest for 2 hours! … I feel it is another way of encouraging languages as a whole, and especially in a boys' school."
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Round 2 2010
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7. Age
• Most countries offer just one level.– so typically for Y12-13
• But we offer Foundation level too.– In 2010, 14 were from Y7!!– If these pupils stay with us, they will do five
more olympiads!
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F-level marks x age, 2010
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A-level marks x age, 2010
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8. Practicalities
• When in 2011?– Round 1: last week! (Feb 2-7)– Round 2: March 25-27, Edinburgh– ILO: July, Pittsburgh, USA
• How much?– Nothing. – We depend entirely on donations.
• Two independent schools have donated generously.
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Thank you
• More information – e.g. registering, preparing
www.uklo.org