It's not that recent. I used to spend hours pouring over shareware/ pd collection catalogues back in the 80's, mostly looking for interesting new languages.
From late 80's to mid 90's (I think) there was even a magazine called Computer Language that focused almost exclusively on writing about different programming languages.
It was common to see articles about writing compilers and interpreters for your own languages in various magazines. One Amiga magazine I picked up in 1990 in Germany included a listing for a full (tiny) compiler for a Pascal inspired language.
From late 80's to mid 90's (I think) there was even a magazine called Computer Language that focused almost exclusively on writing about different programming languages.
It was common to see articles about writing compilers and interpreters for your own languages in various magazines. One Amiga magazine I picked up in 1990 in Germany included a listing for a full (tiny) compiler for a Pascal inspired language.