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Is there an equivalent to being "Turing complete" in human languages? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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If a programming language is Turing complete, it means that you can write any algorithm in it and basically do everything that the computer is capable of doing, barring things like the process not having the privilege to access the APIs for doing something.

Is there an equivalent concept in language languages? Something like the ability to write down instructions for doing everything a human can do?

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago

I guess something similar would be if a language can be used to convey any possible message. I'm reminded of the constructed language, Toki Pona, that only has 137 words. It's a bit of an exercise, but anything can be translated into Toki Pona. The idea behind it was to have a language that forces someone to describe things in the simplest terms while still allowing the person to express themselves fully.

If you wanted to stick with the mathematical definition of "can the language be used to describe any possible algorithm?" then I'd say every human language already is. How else would text books teach programming?