What is NACLO?

NACLO is a contest in which high-school students solve linguistic problems. In solving these problems, students learn about the diversity and consistency of language, while exercising logic skills. No prior knowledge of linguistics or second languages is necessary. Professionals in linguistics, computational linguistics and language technologies use dozens of languages to create engaging problems that represent cutting edge issues in their fields. The competition has attracted top students to study and work in those same fields. It is truly an opportunity for young people to experience a taste of natural-language processing in the 21st century.

Announcements

October 9, 2026The updated 2027 NACLO Student and Coordinator handbooks have been published. Please take a moment to review the updated information for this year's competition.
September 18, 2026The 2027 NACLO Open Round will be held on Thursday, January 28th, and the Invitational Round will be held on Thursday, March 18th. Student registration will open on October 12th.

Please Donate

You can help support NACLO either by mailing a check or giving online. For more information on both, please see our donations page. We thank you for your support!

Current Sponsors of NACLO

Here are those organisations that have been kind enough to sponsor NACLO. If your organisation would like to sponsor then read our information on donation.