[Python-Dev] [slighly OT] Native speakers and hurting brains

[Boris Borcic]

Fredrik Lundh wrote:
 > Boris Borcic wrote:
 >
 >>> in what language [is] the word "sum" an appropriate synonym for "concatenate" ?

 >> any that admits a+b to mean ''.join([a,b]), I'd say.
 >
 > and what human language would that be ?

Let's admit the answer is 'none' (and I apologize for accusing only English),
what is the impact on the idea that natural language intuition is a first rank
suspect, to explain the double standard in the Python treatment of str1+str2 and
sum([str1,str2]) ?

As for 'concatenate'. To my linguistic intuition it is an ugly elitist jargon
word made up for the function, like "we mean to say 'to chain' but don't want to
say it to your ears, unless you had latin classes". Admitting such a word as the
legal standard eliminates the possibility of synonyms. Makes me think, maybe
*that* word is the root of the problem, for being too ugly to find its way into
Python in the first place.

Cheers, BB