Conference: International Linguistics Olympiad (2022)

语言学家对世界上6000多种语言的结构进行正式研究，调查典型和非典型人群中语言的习得和使用情况，寻求了解使人类能够学习和使用语言的神经结构，并创建在计算环境中使用的语言模型，如人工智能和机器翻译。该领域的广泛应用使其对技术和医疗进步、全球经济中的经济竞争力、人道主义援助和美国国家安全至关重要。该奖项将鼓励高中生参与语言学和语言科学，并将有助于招募他们在这一研究领域追求职业生涯。自2007年以来，参加国际语言学奥林匹克竞赛(IOL)的美国团队成员中，约有25%在毕业后继续参与语言学和语言技术领域的工作：几乎所有团队成员在大学期间都参加了语言学课程，为他们的学习和未来的职业生涯带来了开阔的语言视野。该项目将使两支本科生团队能够参加2022年国际语言学奥林匹克竞赛(IOL)。该项目将向高中生介绍语言学领域，并为感兴趣的学生提供培训，并为他们的老师提供支持。在挑选和指导代表国家参加IOL的美国学生团队时，它将支持美国语言学会目前的工作，重点是为高中生创建和促进语言学高级选修课程的教学。具体地说，这笔拨款支持培训一个由8名高中语言学家组成的团队，并将他们护送到2022年国际奥委会的相关费用。这项奖励反映了NSF的法定使命，通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Linguists conduct formal studies of the structure of the world’s over 6,000 languages, investigate the acquisition and use of language in typical and atypical populations, seek to understand the neural structures that enable humans to learn and use language, and create the language models used in computational contexts, such as artificial intelligence and machine translation. The breadth of the field’s applications makes it vital to technological and medical advancements, economic competitiveness in a global economy, humanitarian aid, and U.S. national security. This award will encourage high-school students’ engagement with linguistics and language science, and will help recruit them to pursue careers in this field of study. Since 2007, about twenty-five percent of US team members who attend the International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL) have continuing involvement with the fields of linguistics and language technologies after graduation: nearly all team members take linguistics courses in college, bringing a broadened view of language to their studies and future careers.This project will enable two teams of undergraduates to participate in the 2022 International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL). The project will introduce high school students to the field of linguistics and provide training to interested students and support to their teachers. In selecting and coaching the team of U.S. students that represent the country at the IOL, it will support the current work of the Linguistic Society of America in its focus on creating and promoting the teaching of an Advanced Placement course in linguistics for high school students. Specifically, the grant supports the costs associated with training a team of eight high school linguists from across the United States and escorting them to the 2022 IOL.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.