I don't know. Other languages have become successful following that same path. See objective-c as a perfect example, though in obj-c's case, it only became popular because of the platform it was used on.
The benefit there is understanding. With PHP, knowing the C functions mean I understand how the PHP function works. The same with obj-c, I can drop down into C and work there. And the change in syntax, the way things works, helps me understand what is going on. Again, knowing C, I can do things in obj-c without needing to learn the obj-c part.
Maybe I'm one of the few, but context matters more than consistency. Maybe that's why I like vim.
The benefit there is understanding. With PHP, knowing the C functions mean I understand how the PHP function works. The same with obj-c, I can drop down into C and work there. And the change in syntax, the way things works, helps me understand what is going on. Again, knowing C, I can do things in obj-c without needing to learn the obj-c part.
Maybe I'm one of the few, but context matters more than consistency. Maybe that's why I like vim.