ABSTRACT
In this chapter, Bers draws on prior research from the fields of textual literacy and computational thinking to explore the theoretical and practical comparisons between natural (spoken or written) languages and artificial (or computational) ones. Both natural and artificial languages have symbolic representational systems with a grammar and syntax; can be used to convey meaning or to produce something that has never existed before; and can communicate things that are displaced in time or space. A person can be both textually and computationally literate, and both forms of literacy can translate to social, political, and economic empowerment.
