The Qualification Round is the first stage and consists of five linguistic problems: A, B, C, D, and E. The
problems encompass a wide range of topics and vary in difficulty. Problems may cover syntax, semantics,
phonetics, morphology, pragmatics, and language patterns to ensure everyone finds engaging challenges
to explore!
The problems will test your linguistic reasoning and pattern-recognition abilities. All participants of the Qualification Round will receive participation certificates. Each problem gives 5 points, and you need to score at least 15/17/20 points (Junior/Youth/Senior, see age groups ) to qualify for the Pre-Final Round.
The submission deadline is Tuesday, 30 December 2025, 23:59 UTC+0.
To avoid connection issues, upload errors, and other problems, please submit your solution
before the official submission deadline (30 December 2025).
You must provide a written analysis and explanation of your reasoning for all problems in the solution
document. You may submit handwritten or typed solutions. We value clear explanation of your analytical
process, pattern identification, and linguistic reasoning.
Make sure that you write your name, school, city and date of birth correctly! The
details will be used for all certificates. There are no fees or registration costs to participate in the
Qualification Round.
The results of the Qualification Round will be announced on Wednesday, 14 January 2026. You will receive an
email about the results; however, you can also check your participant account for your results, performance
report, and certificates online. Please log into your participant account so as not to miss any critical
information:
Participants who solved the Qualification Round successfully are qualified to participate in the Pre-Final Round. The problems will be more challenging but also more engaging!
The Pre-Final Round consists of six problems that vary in difficulty, points, and subject. There are three types of problems that give you four, six, and eight points:
All participants who are qualified and registered for the Pre-Final Round will receive the problems via email or via their participant account on Sunday, 8 February 2026. From that day on, you have three days until Tuesday, 10 February 2026, to solve as many problems as possible.
Participants who qualify in the Qualification Round can register for the Pre-Final Round through their participant account.
The registration deadline for the Pre-Final Round is Thursday, 5 February 2026.
Organizing the ILC involves various costs — including human resources, technical infrastructure, materials, and more. Participants are asked to contribute a registration fee of 15 EUR for this year's Pre-Final Round. This contribution ensures we can maintain the quality and scale of the competition, particularly during the comprehensive Pre-Final Round. Financial aid is available for socio-economically disadvantaged participants. There are no additional costs beyond the registration fee. For detailed information, please see the flyer below:
FAQ:
Can I participate only in the Qualification Round and skip the Pre-Final Round?
Yes, you may participate in the Qualification Round, receive your participation certificate, and choose not
to
continue. However, only those who join the Pre-Final Round can advance to further stages.
Participants who have solved the Pre-Final Round successfully are qualified to participate in the Final Round: a multiple-choice online exam with 20 questions.
The Final Round consists of a single exam with 20 multiple-choice questions requiring knowledge about linguistics, in particular related to the Qualification and Pre-Final Round. Finalists have 60 seconds for each question. There are four possible answers to every question (only one is correct). A correct answer equals one point. There are no negative points for incorrect answers. The awards and prizes are given to the Finalists with the most points in the Final Round. If multiple participants have the same score, the points from the Pre-Final Round (and Qualification Round) are used to determine the final winners.
All Final Exams take place on Thursday, 12 March 2026.
Finalists take the exam via a dedicated online exam portal (https://lingchallenge.org/exam). The online exam is conducted in the participant's school, where a teacher supervises each Finalist. All Finalists have to select a teacher who agrees to supervise the exam. We will send all required information to the selected teacher who has time to conduct the 20-minute exam on Thursday, 12 March 2026. The teacher has to make sure that the Finalist does not cheat and does not open any other browser tabs, websites, programs, or computer windows during the exam. Participants can also record their exams with a video camera or smartphone and upload the video. In this case, no teacher is needed.
The results of the Final Round will be announced on Wednesday, 18 March 2026.
Further information on all rounds and the competition can be found here: Official ILC Flyer 2025