> Is there any significant evidence that the keyword-heavy syntax style may be easier to understand for novice coders, or is this just a matter of subjective preference?
I'm not sure how you'd subjectively measure that. Also, I don't think it's just the keyword-heavy syntax of language like PASCAL or Modula-2 that make them easier to learn than, say, C/C++. They also discourage quirky, terse expressions (favorites of advanced C/C++ devs) that can be difficult for beginners to understand.
Beginners face an uphill battle: not only are they being introduced to abstract concepts like data structures and flow control, but they have to deal with the language syntax. You can't do much to alleviate the former, but you can make the latter a bit easier by picking a language with a more straightforward, plain syntax.
I'm not sure how you'd subjectively measure that. Also, I don't think it's just the keyword-heavy syntax of language like PASCAL or Modula-2 that make them easier to learn than, say, C/C++. They also discourage quirky, terse expressions (favorites of advanced C/C++ devs) that can be difficult for beginners to understand.
Beginners face an uphill battle: not only are they being introduced to abstract concepts like data structures and flow control, but they have to deal with the language syntax. You can't do much to alleviate the former, but you can make the latter a bit easier by picking a language with a more straightforward, plain syntax.