There are many decisions that influence language design, it's not just syntax. Differing decisions are made about runtime behavior, memory management, levels of

There are many decisions that influence language design, it's not just syntax. Differing decisions are made about runtime behavior, memory management, levels of abstraction, and the efficiency of idiomatic data structures. Even objectively, a good language to write an OS kernel in isn't necessarily equally well suited to, say, game development, or web development, or scientific computing. That doesn't mean there won't be heroic efforts to make a language work in every arena, but at some point most people draw a line based on pragmatism. Also, often overlooked, there is the aspect of a language mapping well to a given developer's brain. Different people are drawn to different languages for different reasons, including borderline-intangible ones where they just feel more "at home", which translates into tangible outcomes like productivity.