The North American Computational Linguistics Open Competition (NACLO) is a national contest for high school (and middle schools) students. Contestants compete to solve creative and challenging linguistics problems drawn from a variety of languages. Though no prior knowledge of particular languages or of linguistics is required, strong logic, reasoning, and problem solving skills are useful.
The first round of NACLO competition is held locally at various locations in the U.S. and Canada. Students who score well advance to a second invitational round of competition in March. Winners of NACLO are eligible to compete on the US National Team in the International Linguistics Olympiad, one of thirteen international Olympiads for secondary school students. The 2024 competition will take place in Brasilia, Brazil.
DETAILS
For more information, see the national NACLO site and the International Linguistics Olympiad site.
REGISTRATION
Registration is available here and will open in late September. Participation is free. Registration for NACLO 2024 ends one week before the competition date but on-site registration at UF will be available.
HANDBOOK
Download rules and other information from NACLO 2024.
DATES
The 2025 NACLO Open Round will take place on January 23, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Please plan to arrive at least 30 minutes early. It is open to any high schooler interested in linguistics, computer science, or analytical thinking. Walk up registration is allowed. The room capacity is 30 people.
The Invitational Round will take place on March 13, 2025.
Locations for both rounds will be announced closer to time.
SAMPLE PROBLEMS
Practice problems and solutions can be found here and here.
GUIDE FOR STUDENT ORGANIZERS
This NACLO hosting guide was created by Claire Kuntz of Eastside High School in 2022 to assist other students who may be interested in hosting NACLO at their schools.
CONTACT US
For more information contact
Sarah Moeller
Assistant Professor, Linguistics
smoeller@ufl.edu
Haiyin Yang
Ph.D. Student, Linguistics
haiyin.yang@ufl.edu
Claire Kuntz
Undergraduate Student, Linguistics
claire.kuntz@ufl.edu