This year’s event was just a beginning, yet it was such a resounding success that ILLT is excited about their chances of using it as a launchpad propelling next year’s intrepid young linguists into the IOL – in Rio de Janiero.

“We only organised one round of the competition this year, encouraging students to participate in teams. We plan to start working with the local Sixth Forms earlier next year, possibly helping them organise school-based Linguistics Olympiad Clubs which would have students work on enhancing Olympiad puzzling skills,” Alexandra told Lovin Malta.

She continued, hopefully, “Depending on uptake, we may also organise a two-round local competition.”

Olympiads like this one cater to a crowd of pre-University students who are keen to put their minds – and their teamwork – to the test, through a series of provocative puzzles and thinking tribulations. 

UoM’s ILLT worked alongside the Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary, Junior College (JC) and Verdala International School to engage students’ interest and prepare them for the challenging competition. 

Many of the puzzles faced by students in this simultaneously daunting and entrancing challenge involved elements of code-breaking.

Students deciphered and translated symbols from unfamiliar alphabets and sentences involving a variety of exotic languages.

These included Austronesian Gilbertese, Shizuoka Japanese, north-east Russian Permyak, Iroquoian Mohawk and (present day Sudanese) Meroitic. 

The ILLT provided Lovin Malta with an Olympiad-type puzzle which might rack your brain. The task involves finding matches to archaic names for cities – from what is now Lebanon – written in Phoenician script.

Now that you have the opportunity to prove it, I repeat my question. Are you smarter than a sixth former? 

I’m not. At the very most, I’m as smart as they are if given significantly more time to process information. Ah, nothing like a generous rationalisation to soothe the ol’ bruised ego.

ILLT Alexandra Vella, Sarah Grech and Ray Fabri were grateful for the help of their administrative staff, contributing postgraduate students and the Association of Linguistics and Language Technology, without whom they said that hosting this event, “would have been impossible”.

The ILLT asked Lovin Malta to encourage any potential sponsors or volunteers interested in contributing towards next year’s Lingustics Olympiad Malta to get in touch here.

Tag someone who should try this puzzle – and show support for the pioneers helping next year’s cohort compete in Rio