I think part of the issue with using another language can be highlighted here > The problem with the current build system could be characterized as too large a

I think part of the issue with using another language can be highlighted here > The problem with the current build system could be characterized as too large a gap between C and make and the next runnable element, which is either Chez Scheme or Racket BC; neither of those are simple to build. Zuo, a tiny Racket, is an intermediate step to bridge that gap.