PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES ARE NOT LANGUAGES--WHY 'PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE' IS A MISLEADING DESIGNATION (1988)


Translated from: Programmeringssprog er ikke sprog. Mål og Mæle 12(2): 24-31, 1988.


Commentary 1990

This was written in response to an invitation from the editor of a semi-popular journal of language. It became an opportunity to clarify certain notions of language to myself. For the translated version a recent specimen of authentic spoken English was substituted for the original, untranslatable Danish passage.

Section headings:

Language and Knowledge
What is Language?
Language and Speech
Homonyms
Sound and Meaning
Meaning and Imagination
How Far Do We Understand One Another?
Are Programming Languages Languages?