English in computing

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The English language is sometimes described as the lingua franca of computing. In comparison to other sciences, where Latin and Greek predominate, computer science utilizes English as its primary conduit.

The prevalence of English in computing is a consequence of both historical and technical factors. The United States and the United Kingdom — both countries with English-speaking majorities — had prominent roles in the development and popularization of computer systems, computer networks, software and information technology.

Moreover, the technical limitations of early computers, combined with the lack of international standardization on the Internet, meant that English continued to dominate computing until innovations in internet infrastructure and increases in computer speed changed these earlier conditions. The domination of English, however, should not overshadow the technological innovations and additions to computer science that utilize other languages. Also, many widely used English-based technologies were not produced in the United States or the United Kingdom. For example, Ruby was made in Japan.

While English is still influential to various other languages with regard to computers and computing technologies, now most software products are localized in numerous languages and the invention of Unicode character encoding has resolved problems with non-Latin alphabets.