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Neil Sheldon Manchester Grammar School. Apologia. I am not a linguist (in either sense of the word) But I do love languages and linguistics My academic specialisms – mathematics, philosophy, statistics, computer science – all have links to, or applications in, linguistics
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Apologia • I am not a linguist (in either sense of the word) • But I do love languages and linguistics • My academic specialisms – mathematics, philosophy, statistics, computer science – all have links to, or applications in, linguistics • Got involved, by happy accident, in the 2009 contest • Member of UKLO committee, Round 2 tutor, team leader (a.k.a. chaperone) at the IOL for the last three years
Olympiads • Olympiads have been around for many years in subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry biology and informatics (computer programming) • Offering challenge and reward at a variety of levels • Clear links to curriculum subjects … • … subjects in which school teachers feel confident • Hence the numbers – into the tens and hundreds of thousands
Linguistics as an Olympiad • Relatively new: 2011 was the 3rd year for the UK and the 9th year for the international Olympiad • Doesn’t have such clear links to curriculum subjects. English, Classics and MFL might seem like natural links, but these subjects are generally taught with little or no linguistics content … • … partly because teachers lack specialist knowledge • … partly because of the nature of the curriculum • Hence the numbers are still small … though they are growing fast!
Linguistics as an Olympiad • But novelty can be a selling point • A Mathematics Challenge paper can seem much like any other exercise in mathematics, but a Linguistics paper is different and exciting • And while the numbers are still relatively small it is easier to make it onto the international team
The fascination of linguistics • It is exciting to see how other languages work; it helps you to understand how your own language works • Other languages embody other systems of thought and other cultural frameworks. Like travel, linguistics broadens the mind • Linguistics can “make the strange seem familiar and the familiar seem strange” • An approach widely advocated in art, poetry and philosophy • A good way of looking at many aspects of education, and certainly all the challenging parts of education • It’s fun!
Linguistics problem solving • Without the background knowledge of linguistics concepts, problem solving is very challenging – or feels like being thrown into the deep end • Many school children have been taught little or no formal grammar: they lack the metalanguage to tackle problems • So linguistics problems can be seen as a largely content-free test of intelligence – which is appealing to the brightest – but out of step with contemporary educational practice
Organising linguistics competitions • It’s not easy! (Try selling the idea to SMT) • It requires an enthusiastic teacher … • … one who is not afraid to be challenged • It needs time: – ideally, for preparation (in lessons or clubs) – definitely, for sitting the paper • And participation doesn’t do anything for a school’s league table position • But it’s not hard to motivate the students: the following slides have been used successfully with students as young as 9 and 10
Language Puzzles Manchester Grammar School Bexwyke Lecture
How many languages in the world? • There are various estimates, but most experts reckon there are between 6000 and 7000 languages spoken in the world today. • Lots of these languages are spoken by only a very small number of older speakers. When these speakers die, the language dies. • A language dies, on average, every two weeks. • About 4500 languages are thought to be in danger of dying out in the next 100 years.
Pronouncing Russian • 1 Один Adeen • 2 дваDva • 3 триTree • 4 четыре Cheteeree • 5 пятьPyat • 6 шестьShest • 7 семьSyem • 8 восемьVo-syem • 9 девятьDeh-vyat • 10 десятьDes-syat • 100 стоSto
Manam Island, Papua New Guinea The sentences below tell us where Onkau, Kulu, Mombwa, Tola, Sulung, Sala, Pita and Butokang live. Can you work out who lives in houses A to E?
Japanese hiragana See if you can match the words to their pronunciations
Some made up words … – Which adjectives seem ‘good’ and which seem ‘bad’?
Ancient Greek –but in Roman letters The Greek phrases A-H have been translated into English, but the translations 1-8 have been jumbled up. Your task is to un-jumble them.
Language Puzzles Manchester Grammar School Bexwyke Lecture
