+ All Categories
Home > Documents > 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

Date post: 28-Mar-2015
Category:
Upload: richard-odonnell
View: 217 times
Download: 1 times
Share this document with a friend
Popular Tags:
30
1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011
Transcript
Page 1: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

1

The UK Linguistics Olympiad

Richard Hudson

ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011

Page 2: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

2

Plan

1. How it works2. Some example problems3. Educational benefits4. Past, present and future5. Independent and state schools6. Boys and girls7. Age8. Practicalities

Page 3: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

3

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)

Page 4: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

4

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

Page 5: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

5

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

Page 6: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

6

‘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

Page 7: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

7

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!!

Page 8: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

8

‘lacking’ = siz, suz, …

ikbalsiz

isimsiz

sonsuz

takatsiz

sütsüz

parasız

unsuccessful

nameless

endless

lacking strength

lacking milk

cashless

Why does the vowel keep changing?

Page 9: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

9

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.

Page 10: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

10

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!

Page 11: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

11

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?

Page 12: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

12

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.

Page 13: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

13

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

Page 14: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

14

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.

Page 15: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

15

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'

Page 16: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

16

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

Page 17: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

17

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?

Page 18: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

18

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

Page 19: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

19

5. Independent and state schools

• Independent schools perform much better• 2010, Advanced level:

entries winners (to round 2)

independent 230 11

state 170 1

Page 20: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

20

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

Page 21: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

21

Our patron

• Christine Ohuruogu– MBE– Olympic gold-medalist,

200 metres– BA Linguistics, UCL

Page 22: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

22

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!

Page 23: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

23

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

Page 24: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

24

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."

Page 25: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

25

Round 2 2010

Page 26: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

26

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!

Page 27: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

27

F-level marks x age, 2010

Page 28: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

28

A-level marks x age, 2010

Page 29: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

29

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.

Page 30: 1 The UK Linguistics Olympiad Richard Hudson ISMLA Oxford, Feb 2011.

30

Thank you

• More information – e.g. registering, preparing

www.uklo.org


Recommended