Hugo Chang (Year 12), Ben Chen (Year 11), Georgios Pirpiris (Year 12), and Nicholas Wang (Year 12) were amongst 227 high school students from 42 countries who travelled to the capital of Taiwan for a week of competition and cultural exchange.
In the International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL), competitors are provided with small data sets in unknown languages, and work individually or in teams to translate words and phrases using linguistic analysis and problem-solving skills.
“No prior knowledge of linguistics or languages is required, as even the most challenging problems only require logical ability, patient work, and a willingness to think outside the box,” the IOL says.
Impressively, Hugo Chang won a Silver Medal in the individual competition, putting him amongst the top 20 students worldwide after a challenging six-hour exam. Nick Wang was awarded an Honourable Mention.
The students were accompanied by teacher Dr Martin Ball, who was full of praise for their efforts.
“I am very proud of all the students, and of course Hugo in particular,” he says.
“They were wonderful ambassadors for the School, and greatly enjoyed the camaraderie of all the international students throughout the week.”
Australia was also represented by four students from Sydney Grammar School.
To earn their places at this prestigious international competition, the Melbourne and Sydney students first competed in their relative state finals, and then finished as the top two teams
in Australia.
By promoting awareness and understanding of diverse cultures and histories, the competition aims to nurture future linguistics experts and contribute to the development of the academic field.
You can view some examples of linguistics questions here
