I hate to say it, but it might be python since it is more english-like. but I would prefer to say BASIC in any form. python is not my preference of language for any project for reasons I won't mention.
to show your name on the screen,
print "hello"
to do it 10 times,
for x = 1 to 10
print "hello"
next x
where x is a variable. in BASIC, x$ is a string. x is an integer variable. and if I remember right, x# is a double. you can also predeclare your variables before you use them (doesn't hurt):
dim x as Integer
that's BASIC for a starter. the way to generate output may vary between implementations (since in a windows version you may have to draw in an edit or rich edit control to store your output, and things get a little more complicated to get your output).
your most complex being Lisp (a string of perentheses) and the hardest to read being APL (a symbolic language requiring a special keyboard not used anymore), Perl and regexp expressions.
C++, Java, and Javascript have a lot more flexibility. Java has a great library of functions you can call on just for the asking (all in the JRE). Javascript runs in a browser and is usually used to work with web forms. these 3 languages look somewhat similar in coding style. Assembler, C or C++ can get you down to the bare metal. and the compiler will tell you all kinds of things about how wrong your code is if you ask it nicely (-Wall -W for gcc)
Visual Basic is often used to create ActiveX controls, and make windows applications quickly. You can make ActiveX or .Net or Win32 or DLL calls with VB. There is also VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) which is the scripting language for automating Microsoft Office applications. I used it to process 600 Word documents (when I heard I had to do it by hand, I recorded a macro!).
Auto-it3 is a BASIC-like language that knows how to access dialog controls and windows system (win32) functions and DLL's. I use it to make GUI's for my command-line applications and then I write an NSIS installer for the software package.
if you want to do server-side scripting for you r web pages, I suggest learning PHP. it is similar in style to Javascript, Java, & C++. except there are no data types. a variable is a variable.
OH, and one of the things that drives development is cost of the compiler. oftentimes you are restricted in what you may distribute with source code (called "Open Source") - check the license agreement or EULA carefully where it says distribution/redistribution! there are free compilers like Visual Studio Express from Microsoft, but you are not licensed to distribute source with the executable - Open Source is out. you must pay for the $800 Pro version probably to have that priviledge. So I choose free languages (because I am on a zero budget) that don't have any restrictions on distribution. They are out there.