Have you ever thought about writing code in a Nigerian language? Well, say hello to Yorlang – the new programming language that helps you write code in Yoruba.
Programming languages, make it possible for humans and machines to communicate intensively. To learn these languages, one must learn certain keywords, their use and combinations. The most popular programming languages in the world use English-inspired keywords and code libraries. The reason is because about a third of the world’s major programming languages were developed in English speaking countries. More so, languages created in non-English speaking countries are often English-based so that more people can have access.
English is not a requirement for learning programming. However, having a good understanding of English enables programmers and learners to understand the regular code contexts. A learner who has some knowledge of the natural language would find it easier to grasp programming language in that natural language.
Anuoluwapo Karounwi has done something out of the box by creating Yorlang, a new programming language that uses the Yoruba language. In this process he was thinking about the strong dynamic relationship between natural language and programming. He imagined people who think in Yoruba would find it easier to understand programming, as beginners, if they could read the keywords in Yoruba, the language they were most familiar with.
In the meantime, Yorlang is used to learn programming concepts. But it will be interesting to see if it can build complex programs in the future.
To learn more about Yorlang visit https://anoniscoding.github.io/yorlang/
