COBOL, short for Common Business-Oriented Language, was one of the earliest computer languages. It was also, along with Fortran, one of the first programming languages to be based on English words.

That language, named in September 1959, became Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL). ... In March 1959, Hawes proposed that a new computer language be created.

Yu-Fen Yang, Exploring Students' Language Awareness through Intercultural Communication in Computer-supported Collaborative Learning, Educational Technology & Society, Vol. 16, No. 2, Grand Challenges ...