Why is it inappropriate to compare computer languages with natural languages in a Bachelor thesis about an assembler and emulator? [closed]

Question

In a manuscript of my Bachelor thesis (about a PicoBlaze assembler and emulator), I made a few statements I was forced (by my mentor) to delete. These include:

1. I was explaining what the parser (a part of an assembler or a compiler) does using the following sentence from Caesar's De Bello Gallico: "Ea, quae fertilissima totius Germaniae sunt, loca aliquibus Graecis nota fama esse loquuntur.". Which word is the word "nota" (known) syntactically connected to? If you know only a little bit of Latin, you will probably assume it is connected with "fama" (fame, rumour), that it is a pleonasm and that the word "nota" should be ignored. However, that's incorrect. The word "nota" is connected to "loca" (places). Parser, I explained, is there to resolve such situations when they occur in a program code. In an abstract syntax tree produced by the parser, "nota" and "loca" would be children of the same tree node.
2. I compared the assembly language to the Piraha language because both of them lack linguistic recursion.
3. I said that programming languages mostly use a mechanism to divide words (tokens) that somewhat resembles the one used in the Japanese writing system.

However, I was forced to delete those things because they were supposedly inappropriate. Why exactly are they inappropriate?

Answer 1

Please take the "inappropriate" as "off-topic" or "distracting".

1. It is a convoluted expression, that aims at explaining something by showing how someone without knowledge of topic A would falsely interpret a sentence in language A: not very useful.
2. It is at best still debated (as you can read from the wikipedia page), at worse it seems something taken out from wikipedia just to fill some gaps (which I doubt, because the wikipedia page has many more insights in the topic, but that's the way it would look like ;) ).
3. Imprecise, even controverse (since many western languages divide the words in tokens, called syllabs, that somehow resembles the japanese language), if you were to be japanese mother-tongue or very fluent it may be helpful, otherwise it looks like (again) some random fact copied from wikipedia.

Do not overstress too much, it is a bachelor thesis, you want to have it remarkable and that strikes out and you want to show some independent thinking on the topic ... please remember that a boring bachelor thesis with no errors and concise to the point is already remarkable.

Answer 2

I will, once again, use the universal answer of this forum: "Ask your adviser". When you say "forced to delete", I suspect what you mean is that they read your thesis and suggested that you remove certain parts by striking them through. Why they suggested that is something only your adviser will be able to fully explain -- so go ask them! Everyone else here can only speculate.

Answer 3

Why is it inappropriate to compare computer languages with natural languages?

Personally, I don't think it is inappropriate, however, that may be the wrong question. The right question is, will these comparisons help your audience understand your work?

At least to me, they are not helpful, but they may come across as interesting side notes (or "easter eggs") which give some personality to your writing. They also indicate that you are a person who is interested in linguistics. So, while the remarks certainly could be fun/enjoyable (for some audiences), you should consider whether they could be off-putting for a reader in your field who is looking to understand your work.

However, I was forced to delete those things because they were supposedly inappropriate.

I understand your frustration! Pragmatically speaking, the big question here is, is your supervisor's name on your thesis?

• If they are, then they do have some say over the contents, since it reflects on them as much as it reflects on you. Once you graduate and go elsewhere, you can certainly write things without paying attention to what your supervisor thinks.

• If not, then in my opinion you are free to deviate from your supervisor's advice. However, I would think twice before ignoring it entirely. It is likely that your supervisor has more experience in writing than you. It is possible that by following their suggestions, you might become a stronger writer, and more effective in your communication in general.

Either way, it may be helpful to take a step back -- this is a relatively minor dispute (over a few sentences), and you will likely have bigger differences to worry about as far as the content of the thesis, and much bigger things to worry about later on down the road. Don't let such a small issue take over all of your time and energy!

Parser, I explained, is there to resolve such situations when they occur in a program code. In an abstract syntax tree produced by the parser, "nota" and "loca" would be children of the same tree node.

Have you considered writing a blog post or similar, where you can put these remarks? I think you have a nice way of thinking about it, in which you describe your view on some of the connections between your field and linguistics. That could be a better venue for your ideas as it is more informal, and could reach a more general audience than a bachelor's thesis (which is generally a bit more formal and technical).

And, if we're being realistic here, the blog post will probably get more views than the thesis anyway :)