The final round of the German Olympiad in Linguistics (DOL) took place from May 1 to 3, 2025 at the Leibniz-Zentrum Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft (ZAS) in Berlin. A total of 17 students from various German states took part, having previously successfully qualified through the second round of the competition.
In addition to the three-hour exam, the diverse supporting program included exciting contributions from invited speakers, André Müller from Leipzig, Christine Marquardt from Potsdam and Camil Staps from ZAS Berlin. They provided insights into different languages and language structures. The highlight was the festive ceremony, which was joined by the former director of the ZAS Manfred Krifka, an internationally recognized expert on Oceanic languages. The event concluded with a walk to some of Berlin's sights and a visit to the Humboldt Forum on Saturday - a fitting end to an intensive, inspiring time spent learning about language and linguistics.
The final round was organized and accompanied by Nathalie Topaj (Humboldt University/ZAS Berlin and Chairwoman of the German Linguistics Olympiad Association) and André Meinunger (ZAS Berlin), with the participation of Maja Sellmer (Board Member of the German Linguistics Olympiad Association) and student assistants.
The results of the final round of the German Linguistics Olympiad were carefully determined by the jury. The winners of the final round were Leonard Kottisch from Lower Saxony and Mikhail Iomdin from Berlin, with 80 out of a possible 82 points. Daniel Pahi from Bavaria and Stella Heilzelmann from Lower Saxony shared the next two places with 79.5 points. Sofiia Slyvchenko (79 points) and Alexander Borodulin (78.5 points), both from Berlin, also put in a strong performance, with a very small gap in points.
We congratulate all participants on their outstanding performance in the national round!
The top four qualified to take part in the International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL) 2025 - this year only one team will represent Germany. Sofiia Slyvchenko is the first alternate in case someone drops out.
We wish Leonard Kottisch, Mikhail Iomdin, Daniel Pahi and Stella Heinzelmann lots of fun and success at the IOL in Taiwan!
The 2nd round took place online from March 15 to 23. This time the tasks were solved under time pressure (4 hours). Of the 49 students who qualified for the 2nd round, 46 submitted their solutions.
Mikhail Iomdin from Berlin (Heinrich-Herz-Gymnasium) won this round by a wide margin (80.5 out of a possible 92 points). He was followed by Sofiia Slyvchenko from Berlin (Internationale Lomonossow-Schule Marzahn) with 69.5 points, Stella Heinzelmann from Lower Saxony (Gymnasium Mariano-Josephinum in Hildesheim) with 67.05 points and Daniel Pahi from Bavaria (Christoph-Jacob-Treu-Gymnasium, Lauf an der Pegnitz) with 66.53 points. Congratulations!
A total of 17 participants qualified for the final round of the German Linguistics Olympiad. They had to achieve at least 50 points to qualify. The students will compete in Berlin on May 1-3 for the top spot in the national Olympiad and to qualify for the International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL). This year, the 4 best will take part in the IOL in July.
We wish them all the best of luck!
The first round took place from January 17 to February 16. This year there were 265 registrations.
Some students just had a look at the tasks, 147 students from 13 federal states submitted their solutions. This year, most of the participants were from Hessen, followed by Bavaria and Berlin. Some participants sadly did not state their federal state.
The tasks were difficult to crack, but many participants performed brilliantly. Out of a possible 105 points, they needed at least 70 points to qualify for the 2nd round. None of the participants achieved the full score, but Daniel Pahi from Bavaria came very close with 102 points. The second best result was achieved by Stella Heinzelmann from Lower Saxony (99 points).
A total of 49 participants made it through - congratulations and good luck in the second round, which starts on March 15!