The Language of Programming

Explore the fascinating intersection of linguistics and programming in this thought-provoking conference talk from GOTO Chicago 2019. Delve into the parallels between human language and code as Anjana Vakil, Engineering Learning & Development Lead at Mapbox, examines programming through the lens of various linguistic subfields. Discover insights from grammar theory, language acquisition, psycholinguistics, and sociolinguistics that can enhance your understanding of programming practices and culture. Investigate the concept of code as language, language as collaboration, and collaboration as power. Gain valuable perspectives on syntax analysis, programming paradigms, prescriptivism in coding, and the cultural biases inherent in programming languages. Learn about the importance of context in language acquisition and how it applies to learning programming in communities. This 52-minute presentation challenges you to reconsider your approach to coding and offers fresh insights into the language of programming.