The final round of the All-Russian Prometheus Student Olympiad on Linguistics, organized by the Department of Linguistics and Translation of the SUSU Institute of Linguistics and International Communications was held on March 25th.
Linguistics students from 18 regions of Russia took part in the selection round. The finalists included not only the best students of Chelyabinsk universities, but also aspiring linguists from Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Yoshkar-Ola, Tyumen, Ulyanovsk, and Nizhnevartovsk. For some students this was not their first time of participating in the event: last year’s finalists decided to try their hand one more time.
In the finals, participants competed in knowledge from various areas of linguistics and related disciplines: theoretical grammar, lexicology, history of language, intercultural communication, Latin language, history and culture of English-speaking countries, and also performed tasks on logic and linguistic ingenuity.
Winners awarded 1st degree certificates:
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Maksim Mukhamedzyanov (SUSU)
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Marina Sevostyanova (CSU)
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Viktoriia Tsareva (CSU)
Prize-winners awarded 2nd degree certificates:
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Danil Serditykh (SUTU)
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Apollinariya Denisova (CSU)
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Daniil Klychev (SUSU)
Prize-winners awarded 3rd degree certificates:
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Lina Inkina (SUSU)
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Veronika Udalova (SUSU)
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Semen Pronin (CSU)
Winners and prize-winners received gifts. Other participants of the final round were awarded certificates of participation in the Prometheus Olympiad on Linguistics.
Despite the difficult tasks, everyone did an excellent job with the written work and demonstrated a high level of theoretical knowledge.
Olga Babina, Head of the Department of Linguistics and Translation, noted:
“This year we have expanded the list of tasks, having included, along with traditional tasks on the theory of private linguistics, linguistic tasks with an unfamiliar language. The tasks required the participants to demonstrate erudition, good memory, abilities for figurative, associative and critical thinking, as well as the ability to see structure and patterns of linguistic structures. It is this wide range of qualities that allows professional linguists to be successful in their profession, and for student participants in the Olympiad, it determines the opportunity to win a professional contest.”
Contest participants speak about the unusual format of tasks with interest. For example, Danil Serditykh, student of South Ural Technological University, prize-winner of the Prometheus Olympiad on Linguistics, noted:
“Questions seemed unusual to me. I really liked tasks on logic, where, having studied the spelling of words in an ancient language, we had to identify patterns and write down the given words in the same language by ourselves.”
The student participants expressed their will to take part in the Olympiad again in the future. Veronika Udalova, student of South Ural State University and prize-winner of the Prometheus Olympiad on Linguistics, also shared her impressions:
“The Olympiad was exciting, though difficult enough. The tasks required not only linguistic knowledge, but also good erudition. It was a very interesting experience and I would like to participate again next year.”
Along with participating in the competition events, students also visited the SUSU Museum, learned about the history of the university and became familiar with the corporate culture of our university.
Teaching staff of the Department of Linguistics and Translation, including Evgeniya Damman, Elizaveta Orekhova, Olga Silkina, Inna Nastalovskaya, Liudmila Snegareva, Dariia Gudkova, organized and held the Olympiad. Volunteering students, like Polina Lopatina, Elizaveta Belyavskaya and Alina Rozikova helped with organizing cultural activities for participants.
Organizers of the Olympiad congratulate all participants and wish them further success in learning languages!