We shouldn't dismiss this as "cultural imperialism". Instead we should use this to our advantage. Currently source code written in China or in Russia can be read by developers in India or in the US. This is amazing. Let's not forsake it!
Already, differences in menus and keyboard shortcuts make the skills of trained office workers less relevant when they immigrate.
We do not need more barriers to trade.
Some related thoughts:
https://www.nu42.com/2013/04/translation-of-programming-term...
and
https://www.nu42.com/2014/08/replacing-hash-keys-with-values...
The proponents of translation tend to believe what they themselves or other translators will be clear to people just learning the concepts. That is most often not true.
> I am willing to bet the sentence “Çözümü SCALAR bağlamda veri döndüren scalar() fonksiyonunu kullanmaktır” does not make any more sense to a Turkish speaker who speaks no English than “The solution is to use the scalar() function that will create SCALAR context for its parameter.”
> Translation and hash-lookup are different things. If you want to convey meaning, you have to have a command of both languages, and the subject matter. Without that, you are only going to add to the word soup. Translating “big event” as “büyük okazyon” helps no one.
The idea that we should all be grateful for the unification that using one language brings is a sentiment that reinforces the idea that this is cultural imperialism. There are definitely benefits to conformity, no doubt, but imposing it unnecessarily is a design decision that should be questioned. Why take away options from people who might value that freedom?
[0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_layout#Keyboard_layou...
I have seen multiple "foreign" keyboards. They all have ASCII labeled on each key. Using the QWERTY layout demonstrates the dominance of ASCII, which is a valid assumption that modern programming language can reliably rely on.
I don't really care whether you call this cultural imperialism or not. What matters is that a whole industry can use the same standard worldwide. It's the same as metric system. We already have to deal with imperial system, imagine how much more painful would it be if every country used its own measurement system or its one calendar.