> I'd like to turn this question around.  I'm old enough to remember
> programming languages that used Russian keywords &c (including
> assemblers), but, fortunately, young enough to only actually have used
> one such language (and thanks $deity it was *not* Russian COBOL).
> Still I have a bunch of Russian books from 80s and 70s that describe a
> number of homegrown languages and I have to say it's a pain for me to
> read such a code.  B/c English is not my native language I don't have
> any emotional reaction to abbreviations of English words like "insn",
> "cntx", "rm" or "dcl".  And them being in a different script (latin
> vs. cyrillic) also helps to treat them as just mnemonics.  OTOH, their
> Russian counterparts always made me squirm b/c of the sheer ugliness
> of their abbreviated^Wmutilated forms.  I wonder how you guys can bear
> reading pages and pages of such a distortion of your native tongue.

Couln't agree more. I would hate it to see code written in a distortion
of my native tongue. I hate it when I see code comments in a language
different tha english. I just accepted english as the programming language
and don't want and try to mix my spoken (written) language with it. But
of course it must be quite different for a person who grew with english
and didn't have to learn any other language for any other perpuse.

I accept the same policy for any technical device (gsm, audio
equipment, etc...) It just feels more official (and standaridized).

Don't get me wrong, I love my language. I just like don't see it as a
universal means of communication. (Un)fortunately english is.

jj


ps. Since I went quite off topic as well I suggest the end of this
thread (at least on this list).