The Linguistics of Programming

Gordon, Colin S.

Onward! Essays, October 2024, doi: 10.1145/3689492.3689806

Abstract

Research in programming languages and software engineering are broadly concerned with the study of aspects of computer programs: their syntactic structure, the relationship between form and meaning (semantics), empirical properties of how they are constructed and deployed, and more. We could equally well apply this description to the range of ways in which linguistics studies the form, meaning, and use of natural language. We argue that despite some notable examples of PL and SE research drawing on ideas from natural language processing, there are still a wealth of concepts, techniques, and conceptual framings originating in linguistics which would be of use to PL and SE research. Moreover we show that beyond mere parallels, there are cases where linguistics research has complementary methodologies, may help explain or predict study outcomes, or offer new perspectives on established research areas in PL and SE. Broadly, we argue that researchers across PL and SE are investigating close cousins of problems actively studied for years by linguists, and familiarity with linguistics research seems likely to bear fruit for many PL and SE researchers.

Bibtex

@inproceedings{onward24,
  author = {Gordon, Colin S.},
  title = {The Linguistics of Programming},
  abbr = {Onward!},
  booktitle = {Onward! Essays},
  year = {2024},
  address = {Pasadena, California, USA},
  month = {October},
  bibtex_show = {true},
  doi = {10.1145/3689492.3689806},
  abstract = {
Research in programming languages and software engineering are broadly concerned with the study of aspects of
computer programs: their syntactic structure, the relationship between form and meaning (semantics), 
empirical properties of how they are constructed and deployed, and more. 
We could equally well apply this description to the range of ways in which linguistics studies the form, 
meaning, and use of natural language.
We argue that despite some notable examples of PL and SE research drawing on ideas from natural language processing, 
there are still a wealth of concepts, techniques, and conceptual framings originating in linguistics which would 
be of use to PL and SE research. 
Moreover we show that beyond mere parallels, there are cases where linguistics research
has complementary methodologies, may help explain or predict study outcomes, or offer new perspectives on established research areas in
PL and SE.
Broadly, we argue that researchers across PL and SE are investigating
close cousins of problems actively studied for years by linguists, and familiarity with linguistics
research seems likely to bear fruit for many PL and SE researchers.
  },
}