Is Minipy fair? [duplicate]

Question

Minipy is an extension to Python 3 that changes the names of many functions, adds other useful functions, and automatically imports modules.

Because it is Python (Just with assignment statements prepended to every program), it naturally satisfies our conditions for a programming language. Every Python program is a valid Minipy program.

Consider a 116-byte golfed Python quicksort:

def q(s):
 l=len(s)
 if l<2:return s
 p=s[math.randint(0,l-1)];return q(x for x in s if x<p)+q(x for x in s if x>=p)

Using the same algorithm, Minipy beats it with 76 bytes:

def q(k):
 if l(k)<2:return k
 p=rt(k);return q(ff("y>p",k))+q(ff("y<=p",k))

While Minipy programs are not as small as a golfing language, it does make Python more competitive in many situations.

Is Minipy fair?
Should Minipy be considered its own language and distinguished from Python?

Answer 1

Yes, it is fair and different from Python

I'm answering my own question to share my opinion.

Python programs can be very trivially golfed into Minipy, so Python golfers could simply translate their submission. Even if a normal Python submission does not beat most golfing languages, it may still contain insights and new approaches that could be used. Minipy allows Python to be more competitive while still retaining the underlying language itself.

Languages are not just defined by their syntax and executional model – they are defined by their builtins. Prepending code to every program does make a new language. For example, you can transform Underload programs into Emmental programs by prepending Emmental code. A different set of builtins can make a difference regardless of the syntax (Might Ruby be more competitive with Mathematica builtins, for example), and golfing languages usually have a large amount of built-in operations, which can often be just as important as the language structure. Because of these reasons, I think adding or modifying Python's builtins is completely fair and results in a completely different language.