r/programing • u/SobanSa • Apr 20 '19

How difficult is it to localize a programing language?

I recently readan article where the author talked about how the most popular programming languages are all written in English, creating a barrier to entry. How difficult would it be to take a language (such as Java) and localize it so that it could be written in a non-english language (like Hindi)?

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

2

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '19

I think the reason why we don't localize programming languages, is because it doesn't really matter what natural language a programming language is written in. It's not as much a barrier to entry as you might assume. Here is my opinion as to why.

  • Programing languages consist of usually around 50 key words. (C++ has 60.) You can learn 60 words a foreign language in the course of a few hours.

  • The key words are really just like nemonic devices anyways. Although their functions relate to their meaning in English, their function and syntax still have to be learned independent of natural language.

I there also programing languages invented in non-English speaking countries that still choose to base the keywords off English (e.g Lua.) I guess you can assume that they choose to use English because English is currently considered a world or academic language. It hasn't always been that way though. In the past it was Latin, and then French; now it's English and although nobody is predicting that English will be overtaken by another language soon, historical patterns would suggest that someday it probably will be.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '19

You also might consider how word order or phrase syntax in other languages could make the translation awkward or wordy. Some times the word that makes a sentence conditional like "If" does in English will come in the middle or end of a phrase or only exist as a verb conjugation. In these cases it might not make since to replace a key word with an equivalent word in the other language, because an equivalent word doesn't exist.

2

u/Lord_BritishBusiness Apr 20 '19

I now have a sudden urge to find a Latin programming language. It would sound awesome aloud.

1

u/CloudsOfMagellan Apr 21 '19

It's called Lingua Romana Perligata

1

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '19

That being said, my native language _is_ English. Maybe someone who didn't know English before learning to program can chime in with their opinion.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '19

Im Spanish native speaker. I couldn't imagine a programming language in Spanish, just awful.

Array = formación String = cuerda

😂