Are Programming Languages Truly Languages?

Recently, a handful of universities, including UT Austin and Texas A&M, have sparked a debate by allowing programming languages to fulfill the foreign language requirement for high school applicants. While this decision has raised eyebrows, it also prompts the question of whether programming languages can be considered actual languages like English or Spanish. It's important to remember that the vast majority of universities still don't recognize them as such. This decision may be driven by a desire to maintain traditional language education standards or ensuring students have the opportunity to engage with diverse cultures through language learning. Colleges which have allowed them could have their own reasons for accepting it, such as making their admissions requirements less stringent and accommodating for students who didn’t have the opportunity to take a more traditional foreign language.

Merriam-Webster defines language as “the words, their pronunciation, and the methods of combining them used and understood by a community.” By this definition, one could very well argue that programming languages are languages. Programming languages are made of a set of standardized keywords. These keywords are all understood by the community that uses them - programmers and computers.

Critics may contend that programming languages merely repurpose English words, but this argument overlooks the fact that most languages borrow and influence each other. Additionally, as computers permeate various aspects of our lives, the importance of programming languages may increase, potentially leading to their wider recognition as valid foreign languages. What do you think?