The Enduring Impact of English: A History of Language in Computer Science

By Christopher

Apr 01, 2025

In History of Computing

The Enduring Impact of English: A History of Language in Computer Science

The Genesis of Programming: English's Early Role. The history of the English language within computer science begins with the very foundations of programming. Early programming languages like FORTRAN and COBOL relied heavily on English-like keywords and syntax. This design choice was deliberate, aiming to make programming more accessible to a wider audience, particularly those familiar with English. Grace Hopper, a pioneer in computer programming, was instrumental in developing the first compiler, A-0, and later contributed significantly to the development of COBOL. Her work emphasized the importance of making programming more understandable and less arcane. COBOL, designed for business applications, specifically used English-like statements to improve readability and maintainability. Consider the following COBOL code snippet:

   IF CUSTOMER-BALANCE IS GREATER THAN CREDIT-LIMIT
       PERFORM SEND-OVERDUE-NOTICE.
   END-IF.

This clear, English-like structure contrasts sharply with the more cryptic notations of earlier machine languages. The decision to use English-based syntax in these early languages set a precedent for future programming paradigms.

High-Level Languages: A Shift Towards Abstraction and English. The emergence of high-level languages marked a significant shift in the history of the English language within computer science. Languages like ALGOL, Pascal, and C continued the trend of using English-based keywords and control structures. This abstraction allowed programmers to focus on the logic of their programs rather than the intricacies of machine code. For example, in Pascal, a simple program to print "Hello, World!" might look like this:

program HelloWorld;
begin
  writeln('Hello, World!');
end.

The keywords program, begin, end, and writeln are all derived from English, making the code relatively easy to understand, even for novice programmers. This emphasis on readability and abstraction fueled the rapid growth of software development in the latter half of the 20th century. The use of English-like syntax also facilitated collaboration among programmers from different backgrounds, as it provided a common language for expressing computational ideas.

Object-Oriented Programming: English in New Paradigms. The advent of object-oriented programming (OOP) brought new ways to organize and structure code, and English continued to play a pivotal role. Languages like Smalltalk, C++, and Java adopted English-based terminology for concepts like `class`, `object`, `method`, and `inheritance`. These terms, borrowed directly from English, helped to create a more intuitive and accessible programming model. In Java, for example, defining a class might look like this:

public class Dog {
  String name;
  int age;

  public Dog(String name, int age) {
    this.name = name;
    this.age = age;
  }

  public void bark() {
    System.out.println("Woof!");
  }
}

The keywords public, class, String, int, and void are all English words, making the code easier to read and understand. The use of English in OOP not only simplified the programming process but also facilitated the development of complex software systems.

Scripting Languages: English for Rapid Development. Scripting languages like Python, JavaScript, and Ruby further embraced the use of English-like syntax to facilitate rapid development and ease of use. These languages are often used for web development, data analysis, and automation, and their English-based structure makes them accessible to a wide range of users, including those without formal computer science training. Python, in particular, is known for its readability and simple syntax. For example, a Python program to calculate the area of a rectangle might look like this:

width = 10
height = 5
area = width * height
print("The area is:", area)

The code is almost self-explanatory, thanks to the use of clear, English-like variable names and operators. This emphasis on readability has made Python a popular choice for both beginners and experienced programmers alike.

Natural Language Processing: Bridging the Gap Between Humans and Machines. Natural Language Processing (NLP) represents a critical intersection of the history of the English language within computer science. NLP focuses on enabling computers to understand, interpret, and generate human language. This field relies heavily on computational linguistics, which uses computer algorithms to analyze and process language data. NLP applications range from machine translation and chatbots to sentiment analysis and text summarization. For example, NLP algorithms can be used to analyze customer reviews to determine whether they are positive or negative. They can also be used to generate human-like text, such as articles or summaries. The development of NLP has been driven by advances in machine learning and deep learning, allowing computers to process vast amounts of text data and learn complex language patterns.

The Role of Documentation and Comments: Enhancing Code Understandability. Beyond the syntax of programming languages, English plays a vital role in software documentation and comments. Clear and concise documentation is essential for maintaining and extending software systems. Comments within the code provide explanations and context, making it easier for other programmers to understand the code's purpose and functionality. For example:

// This method calculates the average of an array of numbers.
public double calculateAverage(double[] numbers) {
  double sum = 0;
  for (double number : numbers) {
    sum += number;
  }
  return sum / numbers.length;
}

The comment above the method explains its purpose, making it easier for other programmers to understand how to use it. Well-written documentation and comments can significantly improve the maintainability and reliability of software systems.