I disagree. Calling English keywords in programming languages a barrier is the same as describing symbols in mathematics as a barrier. It doesn't matter which word signals an IF clause, the global uniformity is what is really important.
English has become the basis for the symbols of programming. You should not think of code as prose, it is simply code.
A localized language would only "fix" the keywords, and all the libraries (most made by third parties) would be even more difficult to learn/interpret - because if they wouldn't be in English, they likely would not be in your language, they'd be in someone else's non-English language.
English has become the basis for the symbols of programming. You should not think of code as prose, it is simply code.