Software Language Code Convergence

It is interesting how software programming languages are converging in so many ways. To be more exact, the underlying structure and functionality might be wildly different but the front end appearance of the language code all seems to converge. 

 In the old days of computer languages there were vast differences between the grid placement of RPG, the free form nature of BASIC and the wordiness of COBOL. One could tell them apart in an instance. Now all the languages strive to be free-form and object-oriented. They all pile on as many built-in functions and abilities as possible. 

 Once one language designer decides on a need for a CASE statement they all need one. Once one language uses a // for line comments then all the others have to do the same thing. I have been recently learning and working with JavaScript and Java. I have been told for years that they were quite different concepts and Wikipedia says that they have quite different syntax. But gee, they both do a lot of {block} operations and both try to be as succinct at possible. 

 I was wondering why all these languages are based on English. I know that French tends to be wordy and other some human languages have much more complicated verge structure; but I do wonder why one never sees a computer language based on something like POUR .. SUIVANT ... FINI instead of IF .. THEN ... END. 

 Surely there must be some computer languages based on non English verbs and nouns? This is awfully ethnocentric don't you think? Or am I being simply human species-centric instead of being a truly digital thinker?

Some Software Inspiration

As I have said elsewhere, I am once again searching for jobs and a steady salary. I went to an interview last week where they asked me to name a technical book that had inspired me. I must admit that I fumbled the answer. I have read many software manuals and technical books; many of them were useful but I can't think of one that was really inspiring.
What is inspiring? On the other hand I am inspired by many other sources. I get a lot of inspiration from magazines. When I was working in California I enjoyed reading Software Development Magazine each month. It was inspirational to read all the latest concepts and applications.
Sometimes these advanced concepts can be a hindrance to my work. I read about Agile methods and Ruby on Rails and JavaBeans. Then I return to my work repairing thirty-year old RPG code while trying to convince my employers that code can be reused and, just perhaps, that speed of software development, careful design and code reuse is as important as compile speed or multi-level object inheritance.
Sometimes knowing that there is a better way to do things just leads to frustration. I often find that the guy who quietly sits at the back of the meeting and takes two months to do something that should take two weeks, is also the guy who is offered the full time permanent job with benefits while I am out looking for my next contract.
(I just had a look and saw that Software Development Magazine has merged with the ancient -- in computer terms -- Dr. Dobbs's Journal. Both of the magazines and several others are free to American residents but expensive subscriptions for Canadian residents). [By 2014 even Dr Dobb's had gone virtual]
Other magazines? I had a subscription to WIRED magazine for several years. In its glory days of the mid nineties this was a magazine that existed to provide inspiration. I like high style, effective colours and good graphics. WIRED had them all. It also had lots of good ideas and thoughts on everything digital.
Where did they go wrong? They managed to both get too conventional at the same time that they got more weird in appearance. While in the earlier years they would use graphics to illustrate a point and provide information, it seemed that they became dedicated to the look without the additional concentration on useful information. There were far to many pages with something like silver type on purple paper designed just to make the reader squint. While in the early days WIRED would provide pages of useful and inspiring pages at the beginning they evolved having many many pages of advertising in the same place. WIRED became the Vogue of the computer industry.
Current Magazine Inspirations I currently have subscriptions to several general business and news magazines. I read Fortune magazine because of its practical information and left-wing bias. Left-wing? I don't think that there is another magazine that has done quite as authoritative biographical evisceration of the average American 'C' level executive suite. As often as they insist that Bill Gates or Warren Buffett are business gods; they also give us lots of stories about their foibles and all so human eccentricities. After reading those exposés I find it hard to think of the average great financier or CEO as anything more than reasonably smart and well-educated people with good luck and supportive families.
When Fortune is at its best -- doing an in-depth corporate evisceration or essay on the business costs of American medical costs -- it makes one want to stand up and change the system. If only I had the power.
A final business magazine inspiration is Business 2.0. This is the slimmer, hipper and more concise version of Fortune. Lots of stories about the Web and things digital. I normally find myself folding over many page corners as bookmarks before I finish an issue.