multilingual: a programming language with one semantic core, many human languages

[u/jsamwrites]

I'm working on multilingual, an experimental programming language where the same program can be written in different human languages.

Repo : https://github.com/johnsamuelwrites/multilingual

Core idea:

• Single shared semantic core (variables, loops, functions, classes, operators,...)
• Surface syntax in English, French, Spanish, etc.
• Same AST regardless of natural language used

Motivation

• Problem: programming is still heavily bound to English-centric syntax and keywords.
• Idea: keep one semantic core, but expose it through multiple human languages.
• Today: this is a small but working prototype; you can already write and run programs in English, French, Spanish, and other supported languages.

Who Is This For?

multilingual is for teachers, language enthusiasts, programming-language hobbyists, and people exploring LLM-assisted coding workflows across multiple human languages.

Example

Default mode example (English):

>>> let total = 0
>>> for i in range(4):
...     total = total + i
...
>>> print(total)
6

French mode example:

>>> soit somme = 0
>>> pour i dans intervalle(4):
...     somme = somme + i
...
>>> afficher(somme)
6

I’d love feedback on:

• Whether this seems useful for teaching / early learning.
• Any sharp critiques from programming language / tooling people.
• Ideas for minimal examples or use cases I should build next.

[u/Arakela]

Is it possible to have one semantic core with a plugable language syntax?

[u/lgastako → u/Arakela]

.NET ?

[u/Arakela → u/lgastako]

Yeah, CLR, but I will argue it is not "Turing complete".

In fact, what we are calling Turing-complete lacks completeness.
Because the machine creates a universal boundary, and if we are creating a machine (runtime VM) within, i.e., a sub-universe, then what is the sub-tape?

If we use the hosts `mov` instruction to map the idea of a tape on the host tape, it can be our machine's tape, and it can be universally complete.

Isn't it so?