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(Here's the comment I posted on StackOverflow, I wanted to share it here too.) I haven't read all the comments, so forgive me if I'm just repeating the same st

by hattenn 13y ago

(Here's the comment I posted on StackOverflow, I wanted to share it here too.) I haven't read all the comments, so forgive me if I'm just repeating the same stuff (on another note, I hope I am). This is a horrible idea, if you ask me. Language barriers are there because there are languages. If you keep supporting languages, there will always be language barriers. English speakers, especially Americans, feel bad about "making people speak their language". I have seen this many times. But it's just ridiculous. We don't need more than one language. Having more than one language: 1) Creates a language barrier, thus slowing down advancement. 2) Gives people a reason for discrimination, just like nationalism, racism, and religion. When you say that "If just one little girl in Brazil sticks with programming because an answer on this site helped her finish her first project, well… that’s not good enough!", it sounds like a really humble thing to do, but it in fact is the opposite. You are overlooking the fact that there's a lot of information regarding programming and many other things in many different languages already. I'm not a native speaker of English, and I learned English thanks to my interest in programming. First I started with reading stuff in my own language, then I realized that I could learn much more if I read stuff in English. And that's how it should be. I don't care if it's English or any other language, but we only need one language, not three, not two, only one. The rest is just noise. To wrap it up, disguised by a seemingly humble thing, you are supporting language barriers, by supporting languages. I'd expect better from you guys.

dcarmo 13y ago
I totally agree with you. It's not because it's English per se, it's because we need one universal language. English is the better choice because all the code that we have to write is based in... English. "while", "for", "if", "switch", "return", those are all English words that weren't picked at random: they have actual meaning on what you're doing. If you are programmer and don't know English, you'll never be a great programmer because you'll never understand the basics of the programming language you're working with. By the way, I'm Brazilian. You want to start programming? Great, learn English first. It's not hard and it's gonna make more good than harm to you.
K0nserv 13y ago
This is the opinion I was looking for in the comments. All though the general sentiment behind pt.stackoverflow.com is good the execution is not. As you say this will only create additional segregation by separating developers based on their proficiency in english. The programming community benefits enormously from having a single common language. Just imagine the problems that would occur if we had libraries that did not use the common language. However the problem of english proficiency and the barriers it creates for aspiring programmers is still very important. I say: let's not try to localize programming and further the segregation of the community, instead let's try to combine english education with programming education in a meaningful way. First language is swedish by the way.

by hattenn 13y ago

dcarmo 13y ago

I totally agree with you. It's not because it's English per se, it's because we need one universal language. English is the better choice because all the code that we have to write is based in... English. "while", "for", "if", "switch", "return", those are all English words that weren't picked at random: they have actual meaning on what you're doing. If you are programmer and don't know English, you'll never be a great programmer because you'll never understand the basics of the programming language you're working with. By the way, I'm Brazilian. You want to start programming? Great, learn English first. It's not hard and it's gonna make more good than harm to you.

K0nserv 13y ago

This is the opinion I was looking for in the comments. All though the general sentiment behind pt.stackoverflow.com is good the execution is not. As you say this will only create additional segregation by separating developers based on their proficiency in english. The programming community benefits enormously from having a single common language. Just imagine the problems that would occur if we had libraries that did not use the common language. However the problem of english proficiency and the barriers it creates for aspiring programmers is still very important. I say: let's not try to localize programming and further the segregation of the community, instead let's try to combine english education with programming education in a meaningful way. First language is swedish by the way.