On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 at 19:01 GMT, Ron Johnson penned: > On Fri, 2003-10-17 at 12:29, Monique Y. Herman wrote: >> You're right; the anglo-centric nature of most programming languages >> is distressing. It would be fun to code in a language based on a >> totally > > Distressing???????? What an over-reaction. > > Guess what? When French/German/Chinese/Spanish/Portuguese/Japanese > Computer Scientists decide to write a programming language in their > own native language, there will be programming languages in those > languages. But then, why did Niklaus Wirth use English key words, > even though he is Swiss/German? >
Distressing was the wrong word. I personally find variety interesting, and using a language with a different natural-language origin would be entertaining. Then again, I'm pretty good with languages, so I might be in the minority there. Of course you're right that languages based on various natural languages will exist when people write them. That's a tautology. I was mourning the fact that it seemingly hasn't happened. Maybe if I had half a clue about what my ideal programming language would contain, I'd go about writing one with non-English keywords, just to entertain myself. On a personal level, I find "local color" interesting, and the ever-more-prevalent assumption that everyone can or should speak English saddens me, for the same reason that it saddens me when a Walmart or a Starbucks puts a local storefront out of business. So, in the spirit of "think globally, act locally," I try not to assume that everyone speaks English, and I try to buy stuff from friendly, helpful local stores rather than saving five bucks by buying from Walmart. Allllllrighty, I think I've veered far enough off-topic. -- monique Unless you need to share ultra-sensitive super-spy stuff with me, please don't email me directly. I will most likely see your post before I read your mail, anyway. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]