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Ask HN: What are the most popular non-English programming languages?

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Re: Ask HN: What are the most popular non-English programming languages?

#4
post #2

Check https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-English-based_programming_... and https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/33x2e9/howare_p...

I should have said the non-English programing languages that you guys like.

Well, I'm not a programmer so let's hope that this gets some traction, it's an interesting subject ¡gracias!

Re: Ask HN: What are the most popular non-English programming languages?

#5
As engineers I think we can all see the benefits of having a standard language to back keywords.

I mean, culturally it's nice to have many languages throughout the world but imagine how easier everything would be if everybody on the planet spoke the same language. Now imagine if you had to relearn the name of "true", "false", "if", "for", etc. each time you change language… Bonkers.

Anectdote: As a non native speaker myself, I learned to use the while loop before I knew what the word "while" meant. The subset of English words used in programming can be learned pretty quickly.

So, yes, it is not worth it IMHO. For better or worse, English is the way to go.

Re: Ask HN: What are the most popular non-English programming languages?

#6
To native English speakers: How likely is it that you would have become a developer if all code was written in Chinese (or pick another language with glyphs that you don't even recognize)? Would you have become a web user if URLs were in Chinese?

What would be the size of the population of developers in the U.S., relative to today, if all code was written in Chinese?

Re: Ask HN: What are the most popular non-English programming languages?

#7
post #5

As engineers I think we can all see the benefits of having a standard language to back keywords. I mean, culturally it's nice to have many languages throughout the world but imagine how easier everything would be if everybody on the planet spoke the same language. Now imagine if you had to relearn the name of "true", "false", "if", "for", etc. each time you change language… Bonkers. Anectdote: As a non native speaker…

Yes, I agree with you with most of what you said, however, there are dozens of programming languages in English that don't get enough attention, why can't a non-English language be popular in its part of the world?

Re: Ask HN: What are the most popular non-English programming languages?

#8
post #5

As engineers I think we can all see the benefits of having a standard language to back keywords. I mean, culturally it's nice to have many languages throughout the world but imagine how easier everything would be if everybody on the planet spoke the same language. Now imagine if you had to relearn the name of "true", "false", "if", "for", etc. each time you change language… Bonkers. Anectdote: As a non native speaker…

Ah, the times when Microsoft translated VBA keywords into German...

But while they gave that up, we still have localized Excel function names. I don't know how robust exchanging Excel files really is, it makes me nervous, at least.

But given that many companies are global now and Excel is an important backbone to any company, there cannot be more than rare and minor problems with it, I guess.

Re: Ask HN: What are the most popular non-English programming languages?

#9
post #6

To native English speakers: How likely is it that you would have become a developer if all code was written in Chinese (or pick another language with glyphs that you don't even recognize)? Would you have become a web user if URLs were in Chinese? What would be the size of the population of developers in the U.S., relative to today, if all code was written in Chinese?

That is not a fair comparison for most people, because English is the most popular second language. For example in Europe it's not like we have to learn something totally different (like Chinese is to English). I would say most people who have a computer know at least some very basic English.

I started programming at around 13 years old when I have had English classes for 2 or 3 years (since 5th grade) and did not have any problems. My biggest problem was the IE 6 box model, really, and that for a while I had a hard time abstracting the "a class is a car and this object is a BMW car" to things I actually could needed. I have to say, though, that I used German language books and forums for help back then before Stackoverflow was a thing.

Re: Ask HN: What are the most popular non-English programming languages?

#10
Altough I'm not sure it counts as programming language but Excell's functions are definitely localized. While I can see the benefit for a less computer literate audience, I always find myself struggling when switching from an english Office installation to a localized one. I would strongly recommend against does this.
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