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Falsehoods programmers believe about languages (www.lexiconista.com)
submitted 3 days ago by rimu@piefed.social to c/programming@programming.dev
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I can’t believe nobody has done this list yet. I mean, there is one about names, one about time and many others on other topics, but not one about languages yet (except one honorable mention that comes close). So, here’s my attempt to list all the misconceptions and prejudices I’ve come across in the course of my long and illustrious career in software localisation and language technology. Enjoy – and send me your own ones!

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[-] TehPers@beehaw.org 14 points 3 days ago

Another couple missing:

  • every language uses gendered nouns/verbs/adjectives/pronouns/etc
  • no language uses gendered nouns/verbs/adjectives/pronouns/etc
  • pronouns referring to people are always gendered
  • pronouns are always singular (1) or plural (2+)

A fun language to learn regarding these is Hawaiian, where the language uses a-class and o-class rather than masculine and feminine, and which you use is largely based on how much control you have over it.

this post was submitted on 06 Mar 2025
128 points (100.0% liked)

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