What Is the IOL?
The IOL is an annual international competition for students of schools for secondary education
in solving, individually and in teams, self-sufficient linguistic problems. The competition requires
no special knowledge, only familiarity with such fundamental concepts from linguistics and math-
ematics as are typically present in school curricula, as well as general culture and logical thought.

Aims of the IOL
The IOL pursues the following aims:
 
To promote awareness of language, of the world's linguistic diversity, and of the essence of
linguistics among secondary school students and the general public.
 
To foster adolescents' skills in logical thinking and the creative application of general knowl-
edge in problem solving.

To acquaint students with the nature of the professions in the sciences and technologies of
language and advertise these professions as a career choice.

To encourage friendly relations, international understanding and a spirit of sportsmanlike
competitiveness between young people interested in linguistics from all countries.

To enhance the co-operation between teachers and experts involved in school linguistics and
to motivate the launching of new linguistic contests worldwide.

To stimulate the development and growth of the genre of the self-suficient linguistic problem.

History of the IOL
The first linguistic olympiad for secondary school students was organised in 1965 in Moscow
on the initiative of Alfred Zhurinsky (1938{1991), eventually a prominent philologist but then
only a fifth-year student of linguistics, and under the guidance of the mathematician Vladimir
Uspensky. The Olympiad, farsightedly called Traditional since its very beginning, was regularly
held at the Moscow State University from 1965 until 1982. In 1988 the Olympiad was resumed
at the Moscow State Institute for History and Archives (now the Russian State University for the
Humanities), and since 1989 it has been organised jointly by the two institutions. Since 1996 a
mirror of Moscow's Traditional Olympiad in Linguistics has been held in Russia's northern capital
by St Petersburg State University.

Linguistic contests have also been held regularly in Bulgaria since 1982, being organised by
the Union of Bulgarian Mathematicians and the Ministry of Education. In more recent years
analogous events were launched in Oregon (US) and the Netherlands. At the same time teams
of award-holders of the Moscow Olympiad in Linguistics competed successfully in Bulgaria and
vice versa, which demonstrated the potential for international co-operation in this 􏰀eld. Thus
was born the idea of the IOL.

Delegations
Teams are invited for participation consisting of no more than four contestants and a team leader.
The contestants must be students of a school for secondary education or have graduated from one
in the year of the IOL. Ideally they should be chosen on the basis of participation in nation-wide
(con)tests in linguistics or related 􏰀elds, but ad hoc teams may participate as well.
Each participating country is entitled to send one team whose accommodation and full board
for the duration of the IOL, as well as participation in the social and cultural programme, is
covered by the host. A second team may participate at their own expense. Additional contestants
or leaders, coaches, observers and accompanying persons may be received, if the local arrangements
allow it, at the discretion of the Local Organising Committee.
All participants are responsible for the cost of their travel to the venue of the IOL, visa fees
(where applicable), medical insurance and sundry expenses, as well as accommodation and board
for any extra days spent in the host country.

Contests
The IOL includes an individual and a team contest.

At the individual contest a set of five problems is assigned; the duration is six hours (the
former may be altered by the Problem Committee, and the latter by the Jury, under compelling
circumstances). There is no pause, although it is customary for refreshments to be served halfway
through the period. Participants are asked to vote for their favourite problems, and the author of
the winning problem receives a Solvers' Choice Award at the end of the IOL.

At the team contest the members of each team work jointly on a single problem set, sharing
the work as they choose, and hand in a single script. The time allowed for this is three or four
hours, at the discretion of the Jury.
The problems are handed out to the contestants on paper and remain their property after the
contest. Writing paper is provided by the Local Organising Committee. The use of any other
paper is discouraged. Contestants are urged to bring their own pens or pencils, although the
invigilators should have a supply to help out those whose pens run out of ink in mid-contest.
The use of pocket calculators and calendars is allowed, with the understanding that they are not
critical for solving the problems; any equipment that is essential should be made available to all
by the Local Organising Committee.

The contests are not anonymous.

Languages
Contestants receive the statements of the problems and write the solutions in a language of their
choice. It is assumed that all contestants will use the same working language at the individual
contest that their teams have chosen for the team contest, but a contestant may opt for a language
requested by another team.
All business of the IOL is conducted in such languages as are best understood, English being
the default choice when a multinational audience is addressed. All diplomas and certificates must
be written in English.