We use the term “language” to describe a programming language, but we normally assume that there is a world of difference between human languages and programming languages. But what if there were a human language that could be described similarly to how we describe a programming language? That might provide us with some insights into the structures of both! In this talk, David Branner introduces us to classical Chinese, a language whose structure can be analyzed similarly to programming languages. Even if you don’t know any Chinese, this talk provides useful insights into the way that we people communicate with one another, and with our machines.