Breaking the Syntax Barrier: The Impact of Native Turkish Programming Language on Algorithmic Thinking

Nowadays, coding is an essential skill that allows us to communicate with computers. Historically, there were low-level programming languages like Assembly and C, but over time, new languages have been developed to enhance the understanding of code structures. Programming languages are generally categorized into two types: low-level and high-level.

Low-level languages are primarily understandable by machines but are difficult for humans to comprehend. In contrast, high-level programming languages provide features that help humans understand the code, although they require processing to become machine-readable.

However, both scenarios rely on English syntax and grammar, which poses a significant challenge for non-English speakers. For a new learner who is unfamiliar with these terms and does not speak English, understanding English-based code is as difficult as understanding an English text.

To address this, we can develop native programming languages to accelerate the learning process and make coding accessible to everyone. As a native Turkish speaker, I developed a programming language based on Turkish grammar and word order. Since Turkish is an agglutinative language, it was essential to integrate various suffixes into the language’s structure.

As a result, a programming language emerged that a native Turkish speaker can naturally understand. Turkish speakers can now write code while using their own native language.

In a practical application, high school students who were previously learning English-based languages like Python or C++ began using the Hüma language with their teachers. Consequently, students started to understand coding concepts much easier and faster than they did with English-based languages

key words: programming language, turkish, algorithmic thinking, education, open source, research