Dijkstra challenges proposals to simplify programming by replacing formal programming languages with everyday speech or writing. In the surrounding essay, he presents programming as a demanding branch of applied mathematics. Read in that context, his objection concerns the precision of the thinking required, not simply the vocabulary used to express instructions.

Familiar language does not necessarily remove the need to define exactly what a program should do. An instruction can sound clear while leaving assumptions, exceptions or conflicting requirements unresolved. Formal notation can help make such problems easier to identify and reason about.

The quotation states a categorical judgement rather than proving that every such project must fail. A practical lesson is to distinguish making software easier to request from establishing that it behaves as intended. It encourages scrutiny of promises that a more accessible interface removes the need for careful specification and checking.