Students compete by solving puzzles based on real languages they have never learned.
The puzzles are of varying degrees of difficulty, but all are solvable using ordinary reasoning and analytic skills possessed by secondary school students. No special knowledge or resources are needed. On this site you will find a selection of puzzles from the last three US Linguistic Olympics competitions, as well as other resources that may be valuable to teachers who would like to expose their students to the tremendous variety, complexity and beauty of the world's language. In Russia there is a national Linguistic Olympics organizing committee, so that the competitions in Moscow and St. Petersburg are strictly coordinated and regulated. There is the possibility that someday an international competition may be arranged.