Inaugural New Zealand Linguistics Olympiad winners announced
A team of secondary school students from Auckland International College and Kristin School in Auckland has won the first New Zealand Linguistics Olympiad, hosted by Victoria University of Wellington.
A team of secondary school students from Auckland International College and Kristin School in Auckland has won the first New Zealand Linguistics Olympiad, hosted by Victoria University of Wellington.
Students from Tauranga and Christchurch also featured in the prize-giving.
International Linguistics Olympiads have been held since 1965, but this is the first time a national secondary schools linguistics competition has taken place in New Zealand. The competition involves using logical analysis and lateral thinking to solve language puzzles, mostly in languages that are unfamiliar to the participants.
The competition is run by the Linguistic Society of New Zealand, and the main organisers— Dr Sasha Calhoun of Victoria University and Dr Lynn Clark of the University of Canterbury— were impressed with the standard of students in the competition.
"It's amazing what these students can achieve in the two hours given for the test. Linguistics—the scientific study of language—isn't a subject at secondary school level in New Zealand, so it's great to be able to share with students the diversity of languages in the world, and also their logical beauty."
The students showed mastery of the Japanese braille system, Tenji. They demonstrated an impressive grasp of Bislama, an English-based creole spoken in Vanuatu, and Komi-Zyrian, a language spoken in parts of Russia.
The prizes were presented during celebrations to mark the 30th anniversary of the Linguistics Programme at Victoria, which were attended by many alumni of the programme. This gave the students the chance to see where a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Linguistics could lead them.
The winning team members were: Raymond Hu (Year 12, age 16), Kristin School, Auckland; Yuanhe (Amber) Xu (Year 12, age 18), Auckland International College; Helena Ya-Man Zhang (Year 12, age 16), Auckland International College.
The runners-up were: Jack Cameron (Year 11, age 15), Aquinas College, Tauranga; Marie Adele Elliot (Year 12, age 17), Green Bay High School, Auckland; Aileen Harwood (Year 11, age 15), Aquinas College, Tauranga.
There was also a special prize for Daniel Chong (Year 9, age 12) of Christchurch Boys' High School, who received the highest mark in the first round competition. He was also the youngest finalist.