Why are there a multitude of human languages? Well, Tower of Babel. Or at least human isolation, if you like. The point being: for human interaction, a multitud

Why are there a multitude of human languages? Well, Tower of Babel. Or at least human isolation, if you like. The point being: for human interaction, a multitude of languages is not the best solution, but for a long time it was the only solution. The benefits of choosing a common language are obvious and historically tested, as already pointed out in parent comment. I’ll add that today, English is the language of business. Many people have learned English in addition to their native tongues. Not because English is so wonderful, but because it gains benefits in the real world of commerce, education, politics, etc. This is a familiar concept historically. There’s a reason for the phrase Lingua franca, and for Latin being the language of the medieval church. Now, why are there a multitude of programming languages? I know, the right tool for the right job. I say that all the time too, but that is missing the point. For computer programming, a multitude of languages was really the only solution for a long time. Now we have a prospect of a human taking a concept, telling AI, and having AI provide what is necessary for the computer to do the needed work. We’re in the midst, just like for a time a culture might learn several languages, in addition to their own, in a trade route. But the trends over time seem obvious to me.