NACLO 2020 - North American Computational Linguistics Open competition
Columbia University, Computer Science Department

Important Dates:

January 23, 2020
(Thursday)
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
750 CEPSR Building NACLO Open Round (first round)

March 5, 2020
(Thursday)
9:00 am - 1:00 pm
NACLO Invitational Round (second round)

What is NACLO?

NACLO (the North American Computational Linguistics Open competition) is a contest in which high-school students, as well as middle-school students, solve problems relating to linguistics and computational linguistics. No prior knowledge of linguistics or second languages is required. Students may participate at their high school or at a nearby university site. This year, Columbia University will be the local university site for the New York Metropolitan area. The open round of the contest will take place on Thursday, January 23, 2020. Well-performing students will be invited to the second (invitational) round, which is scheduled to take place on March 5, 2020. The top students in the second round will have a chance to participate in the 18th International Linguistics Olympiad, one of thirteen international high school science Olympiads.

More information about NACLO, including a student handbook and practice problems, can be found at the official NACLO website, http://www.nacloweb.org.

How can I register for the Open (first) Round?

Students who are interested can register at the NACLO registration site. The regular registration deadline (recommended) is January 22, 2020, 3:00 pm . Onsite registration at Columbia University will be available on the morning of January 23, 2020, space permitting. Participation in the event is free.

Where is the Columbia University location for the Open (first) Round?

Columbia University, CEPSR Building, Room 750 (PDF campus map).

When should I arrive for the Open (first) Round?

The contest begins promptly at 10:00 am and runs three hours until 1:00 pm on Thursday, Janury 23, 2020. Please arrive early, at about 9:30 am in order to have the instructions read to you. Students who arrive late are not allowed to have extra time to have instructions/ announcements repeated for them.

Where is the Columbia University site for second (invitational) round?

Columbia University will hold the NACLO Competition Open Round on its Morningside Heights campus. Please check this page again for the precise location closer to the event.

When should I arrive for the second (invitational) round?

The contest begins promptly at 9:00 am and runs for four hours until 1:00 pm on Thursday March 5, 2020. Please arrive early, at about 8:45 am in order to have the instructions read to you. Students who arrive late are not allowed to have extra time to have instructions/ announcements repeated for them.

What should I study?

Some sample questions for practice are available here.

Who should I contact?

Please ask us any questions you might have. To ensure you receive prompt reply please email all of the following administrative contacts:

• Dr. Daniel Bauer, <bauer at cs dot columbia dot edu>
• Prof. Kathy McKeown < kathy at cs dot columbia dot edu>)