This text on high level programming languages introduces the basic concepts that underlie various languages. Besides the evolution of the languages, the most important aspects of language processing are considered. Elementary concepts from imperative programming languages are presented in terms of data types, expression and control structures, as well as procedures. The concepts of data encapsulation, inheritance and concurrency are also discussed in detail. The concepts of these languages are illustrated by examples from ADA, PASCAL, MODULA-2, OBERON, C++, SIMULA 67, SMALLTALK-80 and EIFFEL.