Computers need programming languages to function. That’s just a simple fact of life. However, these languages didn’t just spring up out of nowhere. They were developed by people for explicit purposes.

For the rest of the history of modern programming languages -- because C was really just the beginning! -- check out the infographic below. You can click it to zoom in.

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. It’s relatively easy to trace a written linguistic history—there ...

Linguistics and computer science intertwined in the mid-20th century. Computers help linguists better understand and analyze languages and computer scientists use linguistics to advance programming.

Language technology has grown fast, but it still feels frustrating at times. Maybe your virtual assistant misunderstands commands, or translation tools miss the tone of a sentence. These gaps can ...

Ph.D. candidate Yuchen Lian (LIACS) wants to understand why human languages look the way they do—and find inspiration to ...

In the beginning, computer programmers translated their desires into the language of machines. Now, those machines are becoming conversant in the language of their programmers. OpenAI's newly released ...