We are happy to announce that the Online Olympiad in Linguistics will continue in 2025.

The contest will take place on January 26, 2025, with registration starting in early January.

The problem set will be available in the following languages:

• Simplified Chinese
• English
• Japanese
• Polish
• Brazilian Portuguese
• Romanian
• Russian
• Thai
• Ukrainian

Requests for additional languages must be submitted by November 30. Depending on the number of requests, we will consider adding a particular language to the list.

The 2024 student-run edition of the Online Olympiad in Linguistics took place on January 21st, from 00:00^UTC to 24:00^UTC. Participants could begin working on the problems at any time during the contest period. From the moment a participant first sees the test, they had exactly four hours to work on the problems and type in their answers. (Less time was be available for those who started the test after 20:00^UTC.)

Any interested person from any country was welcome to participate. The contest was offered in two divisions: one for secondary/high school students and one for those who have graduated from secondary/high school. Participants in both divisions were be working on the same problem set. For participation in any division, you needed to register.

The results have been published for student and non-student division.

The certificates are now available in the winners’ contest areas.

You can also review the solutions.

Problems & Answers

If you have any questions, please contact us at  or via our Facebook page.

The student-run edition of the Online Olympiad in Linguistics took place on February 12, from 00:00^UTC to 24:00^UTC. Any interested person from any country was welcome to participate.

The contest was offered in two divisions: one for secondary/high school students and one for those who have graduated from secondary/high school. Participants in both divisions worked on the same problem set. The contestants were able to select their preferred working language anytime before they opened the problem set.

Problems & Answers

You can review your answers and the answer key in the contest area. The detailed grading has been published (to locate your marks, use your ID — the 4-digit code you use to enter the contest area).

The results have been published for student and non-student division.

You can also review the solutions and grading scheme.

If you have any questions, please contact us at  or via our Facebook page.

The third Online Olympiad in Linguistics started on Friday, January 29 (7:00 am^UTC) and ran until Monday, February 1 (10:00 pm^UTC). Appeals could be submitted until February 7.

Secondary/high school students from any country were eligible to participate. Participation required prior registration. Everyone who had registered could begin working on the problems at any time during the contest period. From the moment a contestant first saw the test, they had 4 hours and 30 minutes to work on the problems and type in their answers. (Less time was available for those who started the test after 5:30 pm^UTC on February 1.) Explaining one’s answers was not required in this year’s contest.

The test consisted of four problems of varying difficulty. Two of the problems were interactive, and the other two featured audio and video. The problems were self-sufficient—one didn’t need to have any prior knowledge of linguistics or languages to participate (apart from one’s chosen working language).

This year’s problem set was available in English, Simplified Chinese, Czech, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, and Ukrainian. Contestants were able to specify their working language during registration as well as update their preference in the contest area before sitting the test.

During the contest, participants were required to work individually and were prohibited from searching for anything relevant to the problems on the Internet. This year, however, it was allowed to use word processors, graphics editors, or spreadsheets.

The 2021 Olympiad saw the participation of around 700 students from 35 countries. The results of the competition have been published. Certificates of award and participation can be downloaded from the contest area.

Problems & Answers

You can also review solutions and grading scheme.

If you have any questions, please contact us at  or via our Facebook page.

We are pleased to announce that the second Online Olympiad in Linguistics is taking place this January. Secondary/high school students from any country are eligible to participate.

The 2020 Olympiad started on Friday, January 24 (7:00 am^UTC) and lasted till Monday, January 27 (10:00 pm^UTC). Everyone registered for the competition could begin working on the problems at any time during the contest period. From the moment a contestant first saw the test, they had 4 hours and 30 minutes to work on the problems and type in their answers. (Less time was available for those who started the test after 5:30 pm^UTC on January 27.) It was not necessary to explain one’s answers in this year’s contest.

The test consisted of four problems of varying difficulty. Some of the problems were interactive, and some featured audio or video. To work comfortably, a laptop or a desktop computer was needed. The problems were self-sufficient—contestants didn’t need to have any prior knowledge of linguistics or languages to participate (apart from the chosen working language).

This year we offered English, Russian, Spanish, German, Portuguese (Brazilian), Romanian, Polish, Ukrainian, Chinese (traditional and simplified), Japanese, and Korean as working languages: the problem set was available in each of these languages, and contestants could use any of them when inputting their answers. Participants were able to specify their working language during registration and update their preference in the contest area before they started working on the problems.

During the contest, participants were required to work individually and were not allowed to use any outside help. In particular, any interaction with other people or the Internet (apart from this website) was prohibited.

The final results of the contest have been published. Certificates can be downloaded from the contest area. Preliminary scores were announced on January 29 in the contest area. Contestants could appeal the scores until February 2.

Problems & Answers

If you have any questions, please contact us at  or via our Facebook page.