Kinds of Programming Languages

I find the number of programming languages mind-boggling. For example, Jean Sammet in her “Roster of programming languages for 1976-1977” [12] lists 156 programming languages in 24 categories. This includes only languages in active use within the USA. The opposite extreme on the spectrum of permissiveness is represented by the “Online historical encyclopedia of programming languages” [7], which claims 8945 “programming languages since the 18th century”.