Re:Non-English-based programming languages
by BuckRogers on Monday September 02, 2013 @03:16PM
(#6316631)
I'd contend the opposite, being fluent in German, English and having strong knowledge of Latin.
German and Latin can create new words or ideas much easier than English can. English creates them 'easier' by wholesale importing them. Take the concept of 'karma', there is no word for this in English. In German this word is schicksal. This concept doesn't exist in English at all other than the Hindi import.
Re:Non-English-based programming languages
by jcbrand on Monday September 02, 2013 @03:48PM
(#6316791)
English does like to import words wholesale, and I agree that German conjunctions and the fact you can often create new words by combining two different words (my favourite: "scheinheilig"="apparently+holy"=hypocrite) makes it easy to create new words in German (and other Germanic languages).
That said, your example is not a very good one. "Schicksal" can be translated as "fate", "fortune", "destiny" and "lot". Not just "karma".
I`m a native portuguese speaker, and think that romantic languages can be more "emotional" than english. But its amazing how a new idea can be expressed so easilly in English.