Singapore
Linguistics
League
An online competition where teams work together to crack languages and solve linguistics puzzles. No prior linguistics knowledge is required! Just use your logical thinking and pattern recognition skills, and be open to learning some new concepts here and there. Most importantly, have fun!
The
Rules
- You may use any online materials and/or tools, with ONE exception — you are not allowed to feed a problem's language data into an AI model in any format (be it copied, retyped, reworded, or screenshotted).
- No cross-communicating, only discuss with your own team! Sharing of answers or discussion between teams is strictly forbidden during the event, and may get your team disqualified.
- You will need to keep your workings for every question and upload them after the contest. We may review them, especially for the harder problems.
Scoring and Format
Scoring
Each correct answer captures Wugs for your team. Bonus Wugs may be awarded for answering correctly in the first or second tries, so answer as accurately as you can, and as many questions as you can. Teams are ranked on a leaderboard by the number of Wugs they have captured.
Format
The competition is held online. Teams of 3-5 members work together on linguistics puzzles within a single 3-hour window.
Try Our Sample Problems
Try some problems for yourself — do you think you can spot the patterns and crack the language?
Syllabus
Our problems draw from six core areas of linguistics, layered like an onion from the smallest units of sound to language in its full social context. Select a layer to learn more.
Linguistics
The Science of Language
Linguistics is the study of how languages work: their sounds, structure, and meaning. It covers a wide range of concepts related to language and communication. There are six core areas, from individual speech sounds (Phonetics) all the way to how context changes what words mean (Pragmatics). Beyond that, topics like Sociolinguistics and Historical Linguistics combine with other fields to put Language into perspective.
Syllabus
Our problems draw from six core areas of linguistics, layered like an onion from the smallest units of sound to language in its full social context. Select a layer to learn more.
Linguistics
The Science of Language
Linguistics is the study of how languages work: their sounds, structure, and meaning. It covers a wide range of concepts related to language and communication. There are six core areas, from individual speech sounds (Phonetics) all the way to how context changes what words mean (Pragmatics). Beyond that, topics like Sociolinguistics and Historical Linguistics combine with other fields to put Language into perspective.
There are over 7,000 languages spoken in the world today, but nearly half are expected to disappear by the end of this century.
— Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger, UNESCO
FAQs
Answers to common questions about the Singapore Linguistics League.
Alex
Problem Setter
Hi! Alex here. I'm from Hong Kong and haven't been to Singapore for 10+ years now. When I'm not cramming for my exams, you'll (hopefully not) catch me slacking off by working on linguistics and/or Cantonese projects! Also an IOL alumnus.
Ariel
Admin | Pubs
Hellos! I'm a NUSHie who loves seeing what I'm learning appear in the world. When I'm not busy crafting notes, you can catch me exploring, cycling, and bigbacking across Singapore.
Dylan
Admin | Problem Setter | Pubs
Hi! I'm Dylan, a recently graduated JC student and IOL medallist with a passion for all things involving linguistics and/or linguine. Other things I love include bossa nova, cork grease and raw onions.
Jaeden
Admin | Problem Setter
Ex NUSHie who kept doing linguistics olympiad 2 years after aging out of the system. Likes writing systems, hates chaos and order problems (doesn't mean he'll never set one tho ;))
Janson
Problem Setter
Hi! I'm Janson from Malaysia; not sure how I ended up here :3
Jun Heng
Admin | Dev
I love grease and raw onions
Rui Ming
Admin | Problem Setter
Hi! I'm Rui Ming, a NUSHie and enthusiast of geography, linguistics and rice. I like wandering aimlessly around wikipedia, maps and corners of the country.
Seng Yan
Problem Setter
hiii! im seng, an ex-dunmanian and i love linguistics and music! i spend my waking hours reading mystery novels and my sleeping hours dreaming about grease and raw onions
Wayne
Pubs | Problem Setter
spent too much time on ling wikipedia as a kid and now i'm here 有時坎戇、有時假慶、逐日恰善 💔
Wee Zen
Dev
hi! i'm wee zen and i graduated from nush in 2025. i've done only a bit of linguistics olympiad before, so i mainly work on the dev side of things for sll. in my free time i run and drink coffee!
Yaw Tia
Admin | Dev
Hi! I'm an ex-NUSHie who's been loving linguistics, learning languages, and creating conlangs for some time. kin la mi sona e toki pona. jan ale o kama sona e toki pona.
Yueyi
Dev
Hi! I'm a JC student who enjoys learning new things and forgetting about them shortly after. In my spare time, I enjoy sewing, drawing, and getting up to monkey business.
About Us
The Singapore Linguistics League (SLL) is run by students who love linguistics and want to share the joy with others. Inspired by Linguistics Olympiads such as SLO, APLO and IOL, as well as other science leagues hosted by students, we decided to create SLL.
We write all our problems from scratch, based on real languages. You don't necessarily need to know any linguistics beforehand, but some knowledge would help. If you can spot patterns and think logically, you'll do great regardless.
Contact Us
Have questions about the Singapore Linguistics League? Whether it is about registration, competition format, or anything else, we are happy to help.
Email
Have questions? Copy our email:
Instagram
Follow us: @sglingleague
Discord
Join our community: Official Singapore Linguistics League Discord Server (opens in a new tab)
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