Dr Vikki Janke, from the Department of English Language & Linguistics, has been involved with the 11th International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL), held this year in Manchester, the first time the Olympiad has been held in the UK since its inauguration in 2003.
The IOL is one of 12 International Science Olympiads. Each year, teams of young linguists from around the world gather and test their minds against the world’s toughest puzzles in language and linguistics. This year, 35 teams representing 26 countries competed to solve problems on a range of languages, including Yidiny, Tundra Yukaghir, Pirahã, Muna, English and Georgian.
Vikki is a panel member of the Linguistics Association of Great Britain (LAGB), which organised the 2013 Olympiad, and in addition supported the Olympiad by acting as a first-round marker of the Advanced Level competition entries. ‘It’s brilliant for linguistics nationally,’ Vikki says, ‘in that it takes the subject into schools.’
For more information, please see the IOL website: www.ioling.org