International Linguistics Olympiad

International Linguistics Olympiad

Overview of International Linguistics Olympiad
The International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL) is a competition for secondary-school students. Each participating country sends 1-2 teams of four contestants, typically chosen from the winners of their national Linguistics Olympiad. No prior linguistic knowledge is required, as every problem is self-contained. The best preparation is to practice with past problems.
๐Location
In-Person, Worldwide๐
๐ Application deadlines
- No upcoming deadlines
Eligibility Requirements
๐ General Requirements
No prior knowledge of linguistics or languages is required. The competition problems are self-contained and require logical ability, patient work, and a willingness to think outside the box.
๐ฅ Age Requirements
The IOL is a contest for secondary-school students; current university students are ineligible to compete.
๐ Grade Requirements
The IOL is a contest for secondary-school students.
๐ Eligible Countries
High school student Australia๐ฆ๐บ Bangladesh๐ง๐ฉ Bulgaria๐ง๐ฌ Brazil๐ง๐ท Canada๐จ๐ฆ Switzerland๐จ๐ญ China๐จ๐ณ Colombia๐จ๐ด Czechia๐จ๐ฟ Germany๐ฉ๐ช Spain๐ช๐ธ Estonia๐ช๐ช Finland๐ซ๐ฎ UK๐ฌ๐ง Hong Kong๐ญ๐ฐ Hungary๐ญ๐บ Isle of Man๐ฎ๐ฒ India๐ฎ๐ณ Ireland๐ฎ๐ช Japan๐ฏ๐ต Kazakhstan๐ฐ๐ฟ South Korea๐ฐ๐ท Latvia๐ฑ๐ป Moldova๐ฒ๐ฉ Malta๐ฒ๐น Malaysia๐ฒ๐พ Netherlands๐ณ๐ฑ Nepal๐ณ๐ต Poland๐ต๐ฑ Romania๐ท๐ด Russia๐ท๐บ Slovenia๐ธ๐ฎ Sweden๐ธ๐ช Thailand๐น๐ญ Turkey๐น๐ท Taiwan๐น๐ผ Ukraine๐บ๐ฆ US๐บ๐ธ
Application Process
Contestants are chosen from the winners of national Linguistics Olympiads in participating countries. The methods of choosing contestants and composing teams differ from country to country. If your country does not participate, you can contact the organization.
๐ Summer
Duration
6 days
Program Dates
Jul 21, 2025 - Jul 26, 2025
Application Deadlines
- Jan 31, 2025 โ Requesting new working language
Deadline for countries to request a new working language for the contest.