What is NACLO?

NACLO is a contest in which high-school students solve linguistic puzzles. In solving these puzzles, students learn about the diversity and consistency of language, while exercising logic skills. No prior knowledge of linguistics or second languages is necessary. Professionals in linguistics, computational linguistics and language technologies use dozens of languages to create engaging problems that represent cutting edge issues in their fields. The competition has attracted top students to study and work in those same fields. It is truly an opportunity for young people to experience a taste of natural-language processing in the 21st century.

Announcements

September 20, 2020The handbook for 2021 is now available.
September 20, 2020Registration for the 2021 Open Contest started on September 15, 2020.
September 2, 2020Students who cannot participate at a high school or university site due to COVID-19 restrictions have the one-time option of participating in the open round of NACLO 2021 from home by registering for the AT-HOME site, one of the options available in the University Sites category. Participants registering for this site must have internet access for the duration of the competition in order to receive the puzzles directly from the NACLO organizing committee and print them at home, communicate with the jury if needed, and enter their puzzle answers online using Google Forms.
August 23, 2020The NACLO organizing committee is mindful of the health and safety of its participants and its site hosts. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, participants and hosts are encouraged to follow the direction of state, provincial, and local officials to determine the safest option for hosting the NACLO 2021 Open Round on January 28, 2021, as well as the Invitational Round on March 11, 2021. As health-related restrictions remain fluid across different parts of the U.S. and Canada, we encourage students to register as in the past keeping in mind that the contingency plan is for students to participate from home if they find themselves unable to participate at a University or High School site due to restrictions related to COVID-19. Please note that this at-home participation option will require internet access for the duration of the competition.
June 14, 2020All Open Round problems (+solutions) have been posted online under STUDENTS/PRACTICE PROBLEMS tab.
March 30, 2020See the results of the Invitational Round. If your score is missing or if you notice any other problem, please contact naclo20org@umich.edu asap. Please note that announcement of team qualifiers and alternates will be intentionally delayed. Further information about teams will be released in the next several days, pending further guidance from the IOL.
March 10, 2020The list of submitted booklets for the Invitational Round is now available. If you don't see your number here, please contact naclo20org@umich.edu asap
February 15, 2020Grading is over (with a few exceptions). See the results. If your score is missing or if you notice any other problem, please contact naclo20org@umich.edu asap.
February 10, 2020The list of submitted booklets for the Open Round is now available. If you don't see your number here, please contact naclo20org@umich.edu asap
January 23, 2019On-site registration is open now for the sites that allow walk-ins. The registration site will be closed for good after the end of the contest later today
January 22, 2019Regular registration ends today (January 22) at 3 PM EST (12 noon PST). It will reopen for walk-in registration tomorrow (January 23) morning and close again for good after the end of the contest. If you are a student, you can check if your site allows walk-ins. All participants have to register in order to compete.
December 1, 2019Announcement about the new name of this competition.
September 7, 2019Registration for 2020 has started.
Student registrations are not carried over from one year to the next. If you are a student and had registered prior to September 15, you will need to register again from scratch.
Site registrations (high school and university sites) are automatically copied from one year to the next.
August 12, 2019 The dates for the 2020 contest are January 23 (open round) and March 5, 2020 (invitational round).
The NACLO 2020 Student Handbook
The NACLO 2020 Coordinator Handbook
The NACLO 2020 Appendix

Please Donate

You can help support NACLO either by mailing a check or giving online. For more information on both, please see our donations page. We thank you for your support!