I think this is a tad too contrarian. I think SQL does (did?) a great job of giving common-language terms for fundamental data table operations, which in turn creates a shared mental model that everyone can use to describe what can and should be done to tables.

I agree with you in terms of syntax, though, it leaves something to be desired. But learning SQL was a pretty fundamental step in my journey to becoming a data scientist. It helped form the basis for how I reason about tabular data.