The North American Compuational Linguistics Olympiad

1. The North American Compuational Linguistics Olympiad Haven’t you always wanted to see Bulgaria?

2. What NACLO Is • A challenge where high school students compete on the field of linguistic, computational, and analytic battle. • Based around using creativity and logic to solve puzzles that involve human languages and language technologies. • No prior knowledge of linguistics or computer science is required--all you need is a brain.

3. Linguistic Olympiads • This family of contests began in the Soviet Union during the mid-1960s. • Several years ago, and international competition was started. • Last year was the first year a US team participated. • Despite the newness of this competition in North America, our team won! The top score was from a member of the US team. • Let’s continue to show the world that we are smarter than our television programming and test scores would seem to indicate!

4. NACLO Pittsburgh • First Round: • February 5, at CMU [location] • Registration at 9:00, contest starts at 10:00 • 3 hours of challenging puzzles. • Second Round • March 11, at CMU [location] • Harder puzzles, higher stakes • The best contestants in the second round (nationwide) will be selected for the American National Team

5. ILO • The International Linguistic Olympiad will be held in Bulgaria in late July. • Pending budgetary approval, the basic travel expenses of the US Team will be paid by NACLO. • The team will also attend a summer training camp, either in the US or in Bulgaria.

6. What Linguistics Is Or, how, if somebody asks me how many languages I speak one more time, I will strangle her.

7. What is Linguistics? • Linguistics is, ostensibly (SAT word!) “the scientific study of language.” • I would argue that this is technically untrue, but it is a useful myth to perpetuate because it makes us look less silly when we ask the National Science Foundation for grant money. • What, then, is linguistics?

8. Linguists like languages, but they love Language • Language is fully of what I call “mundane mysteries.” • We use language every day, none of us really knows for certain what we are doing when we use it. • Language use seems effortless for us, but it involves knowing and following a broad range of rules and conventions that govern... • how to form words • how to form sentences • What kinds of words, sentences, and pronunciations can be used in a particular context or situation.

9. Rules you know you know • We know some rules of language: • Don’t end sentences with prepositions (unless you have nothing else to end them with). • Only use a double negative if you mean a positive. • What else? • Most linguists are not particularly interested in these rules. • They will tell you that some of them were just made up by bitter English teachers in order to make the writing of essays less pleasurable.

10. Rules you know but don’t know you know • There are other rules, often more intricate, that we all know as speakers of a language, but of which we are not usually aware. • Example: you cannot put reflexive pronouns (himself, herself, itself, yourself, etc.) the same places where you can put normal pronouns (him, her, it you). • Where do you put each kind? • Not so easy, is it? You follow a rule 99% of the time, without even being able to say what it is!

11. Linguistics is about saying it. • Linguists try to make precise and falsifiable statements about what the unspoken rules of Language are, in many areas: • The patterns in language sounds. • The structure of words. • The structure of sentences. • The structure of discourse. • The social use of language. • The ways and reasons languages change.

12. Expletive Infixation It's not just for swearing anymore.

13. Expletive Infixation • Expletive infixation is a fancy name for what you do when you put an expletive (a swearword, curse, etc.) inside of another word. • You know these expletives, and it’s a good thing, because we can’t say most of them in a high school. • We’ll use bloomin’ in order to downplay our edgy, hipster image.

14. Examples • Here are some examples of expletive infixation: • Pennsyl-bloomin’-vania • Minne-bloomin’-sota • exo-bloomin’-skeleton • impe-bloomin’-cunious

15. Where does the expletive go? • California • Massachusetts • Alabama • Indiana • Based on these examples, where in the word do you put the expletive?

16. Where does the expletive go? • Cà.li.fór.nia • Mà.ssa.chú.setts • À.la.bá.ma • Ìn.di.á.na • Based on these examples, where in the word do you put the expletive?

17. But what about these? • Vermont • Nevada • biology • cohesion • macguyverism

18. But what about these? • Ver.mónt • Ne.vá.da • bi.ó.lo.gy • co.hé.sion • mac.gúy.ver.ism

19. Ah, but there are problems • Where do expletive infixes go in the following words? • Cárrick • Mífflin • Téxas • And what about these? • Gréenfield • Hómewood • What's the problem here?

20. The story so far • We try to place the expletive immediately before a stressed syllable (but not necessarily immediately before a stressed vowel). • We try to place the expletive after the first syllable, though not always immediately after the first syllable. • Sometimes we cannot satisfy both of these constraints.

21. The story so far • When we can't do both, we have to decide where to compromise. • In what cases do we put the expletive at the very beginning of a word? • In what cases do we put the expletive before an unstressed syllable? • In compound words–words made out of two smaller words—we seem to prefer putting the word at the break between smaller words.

22. A final puzzle • Consider two final examples • ìrrespónsible • ùnrelíable • Same number of syllables • Same stress pattern • s  = strong (stressed)‏ • w = weak (unstressed)‏ • swsww

23. A final puzzle • Most speakers of English prefer: • irre-bloomin'-sponsible • un-bloomin'-reliable • Why the difference? • sw-EXPL-sww (what we expected)‏ • s-EXPL-wsww (not what we expected)‏

24. A final puzzle • “Ah, ha!” you say, “unreliable has a prefix, and the expletive goes between the prefix and the rest of the word. • Problem: irresponsible also has a prefix. • responsible irresponsible • regular irregular • redeemable irredeemable • However, it turns out than un- and ir- are different kinds of prefixes.

25. Does change imbalance immobile indefinite innocuous irreligious illegible ingratitude A final puzzle • Doesn't change. • unbelievable • unmentionable • undecided • unnerving • unrealistic • unleavened • ungrateful Compare unnerving and innocuous: is the n the same in both words, or is it longer in one? Which one?

26. Expletive infixation and our knowledge of language • At first glance, expletive infixation looks quite inane, and not terribly complicated. • However, on closer examination, we find that... • We have clear intuitions about how to do it. • These intuitions are based on a rather clear set of rules, of which we are not consciously aware. • These rules intersect with others in intricate ways.

27. Because Swahili is for Learners A puzzle to get started.

28. Swahili mbuzi kibuzi mgeni jito mtu jitu English ‘man’ ‘giant (large man)’ ‘kid (young goat)’ ‘goat’ ‘big river’ ‘guest’ Match the Words

29. Strategies • Look for recurring elements: • recurring sequences of sounds (“letters”) • recurring aspects of meaning • Group like with like. • Assume the principle of least coincidence: • When choosing between hypotheses (about how to divide words up, about what parts mean, etc.) choose the hypothesis that makes the fewest patterns look accidental. • The more patterns you are able to “factor out” of the data by applying your hypothesis, the more likely it is to be on the right track.

30. A Problem from a Mysterious Language of Ancient Mongolia Or, who did what to whose what?

31. Baby Steppes • You will see some sentences from Orkhono-Yeniseyan translated into English. • Orkhono-Yeniseyan was a language anciently spoken in parts of Central Asia. • Scrolls containing the language were found in Mongolia near the confluence of the Orkhon and Yenisey rivers (with which, I assume, we are all familiar), thus the name. • You will figure out the meanings of the words, and a little bit of the grammar, so that you can translate two sentences from OY to English and from English to OY (becuause you are just that devious).

32. To the left are the sentences to get you started. Here are the sentences you should translate: Qaghan baliqigh alti Men barqigh buzdim. The son conquered your city. The king betrayed the vassal. Ya’ll’s vassal destroyed my house. • Oghuling baliqigh alti.‘Ya’ll’s son conquered the city.’ • Baz oghuligh yangilti. ‘The vassal betrayed the son.’ • Siz baliqimizin buzdingiz. ‘Y’all destroyed our city.’ • Qaghanimiz oghulingin yangilti.‘Our king betrayed y’all’s son.’ • Oghulim barqingin buzdi‘My son destroyed y’all’s house.’ • Siz qaghanigh yangiltingiz.‘Y’all betrayed the king.’ • Biz baliqigh altimiz.‘We conquered the city.’ • Bazim qaghanimizin yangilti. ‘My vassal betrayed our king.’

33. Conclusion • If you thought that was fun (and to be perfectly frank, it was), please join us on February 5th, 2008, for the second annual NACLO-Pittsburgh. • For more information on NACLO, visit our new website at:http://www.naclo.cs.cmu.edu/