Codex: The Impact of English on Programming Languages - Guy Royse - NDC London 2025

This talk was recorded at NDC London in London, England. #ndclondon #ndcconferences #developer #softwaredeveloper Attend the next NDC conference near you: https://ndcconferences.com https://ndclondon.com/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel and learn every day: / @NDC Follow our Social Media! https://www.facebook.com/ndcconferences https://twitter.com/NDC_Conferences https://www.instagram.com/ndc_conferences/ #programminglanguages #ethics There are two types of biases in the world. Those that you are aware of and those that you are not. A good goal is to try to move the later biases into the former category, to make you aware of your hidden biases. This allows you to do something about them. Otherwise, these biases can creep into many aspects of our life and our world. Language, in particular, is a very power bias that most of us are unaware of. It shapes how we think, how we talk, and how we describe the world. It informs much of what we do and what we make, including our technology. Including our programming languages. So, I'm going to explore the impact of human language on our code. I'll look at how vocabulary and grammar in English is reflected in the languages we use. And, I'll play some "what if" games to help us see past our bias by speculating on what programming languages would look like if they had been written by speakers of different languages. In doing this, we can discover new ways to look at programming and programming languages. When we're done, you'll look at the relationship between language and programming in a way you've probably never done before. And you'll be aware of a hidden bias that you've had your entire career.