Learning A New Language While Learning A New Language - AppDevCon, Amsterdam, March 2018

[UPDATE: I've tried reuploading this four times and it's still not getting past processing the first slide. Working with SpeakerDeck to try to figure out what the hell is going on but until then, please enjoy this older version: https://speakerdeck.com/designatednerd/learning-a-new-language-while-learning-a-new-language-gdg-devfest-nl-november-2017]

An updated version of my talk about learning Kotlin and Dutch at the same time.

Description:
It turns out there are a lot of things that are similar about learning a human language similar to one you already know and a computer language similar to one you already know. Some things being super-similar provides a huge leg up, but there are plenty of false friends in both types of language, and there are plenty of differences which make you wonder why you ever thought these things were similar in the first place. This is a tale of the triumphs and perils (and eerie similarities) of learning Dutch as a native English speaker and Kotlin as a developer with a good grip on Swift.

Transcript

1. Learning a new language while Learning a new language AppDevCon | Amsterdam | March 2018 @DesignatedNerd | bakkenbaeck.com | justhum.com
6. ANYWAY
7. !
11. !
12. ✌
13. !
14. !!!!!
17. !
21. vs.
22. ANYWAY
28. ->
30. Fail hard. Fail often.
31. Fail hard. Fail often. Learn. Improve.
32. Spreekt je Engels?
33. (iedereen spreekt Engels)
34. Amsterdam ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor...
35. Amsterdam ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor... THEM: It's OK, I speak English!
36. Amsterdam ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor... THEM: It's OK, I speak English! [rest of conversation in English]
37. Nijmegen ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor...
38. Nijmegen ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor... THEM: [smiling and waiting]
39. Nijmegen ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor... THEM: [smiling and waiting] ME: Uh, mijn...maaltijd met een creditcard?
40. Nijmegen ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor... THEM: [smiling and waiting] ME: Uh, mijn...maaltijd met een creditcard? THEM: Nee, we accepteren alleen pinpas.
41. Nijmegen ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor... THEM: [smiling and waiting] ME: Uh, mijn...maaltijd met een creditcard? THEM: Nee, we accepteren alleen pinpas. ME: Uhhh...ik heb niet...
42. Nijmegen ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor... THEM: [smiling and waiting] ME: Uh, mijn...maaltijd met een creditcard? THEM: Nee, we accepteren alleen pinpas. ME: Uhhh...ik heb niet...spreekt je Engels?
43. Nijmegen ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor... THEM: [smiling and waiting] ME: Uh, mijn...maaltijd met een creditcard? THEM: Nee, we accepteren alleen pinpas. ME: Uhhh...ik heb niet...spreekt je Engels? THEM: Of course, I lived in New York for three years!
47. Don't bend a new language to fit what you already know
48. Naar vs. Near
49. Ik woon naar het station != I live near the station
50. Java-style Singleton private var instance: SomeService? = null fun getServiceInstance(): SomeService { if (instance == null) { val retrofit = Retrofit.Builder() .baseUrl("https://example.com") .addConverterFactory(GsonConverterFactory.create()) .build() instance = retrofit.create<SomeService>(SomeService::class.java) } return instance as SomeService }
51. Moar Kotlin-ier Singleton val instance: SomeService by lazy { val retrofit = Retrofit.Builder() .baseUrl("https://example.com") .addConverterFactory(GsonConverterFactory.create()) .build() retrofit.create<SomeService>(SomeService::class.java) }
53. Early examples seem contrived
60. ANYWAY
64. Keep going
65. Keep going (it will eventually make sense)
66. Friends
67. True Friends exactly the same computer -> computer student -> student weekend -> weekend
68. True Friends exactly the same computer -> computer student -> student weekend -> weekend map -> map filter -> filter
69. True Friends exactly the same close enough! computer -> computer work -> werk student -> student orange -> oranje weekend -> weekend text -> tekst map -> map filter -> filter
70. True Friends exactly the same close enough! computer -> computer work -> werk student -> student orange -> oranje weekend -> weekend text -> tekst map -> map func -> fun filter -> filter enum -> enum class
72. False Friends
74. !
76. Slim
79. reduce
83. False friends are easier to remember
84. Words or concepts with no equivalent
85. Gezellig
86. via StuffDutchPeopleLike.com
91. Lekker
92. Lekker!
98. async / await
99. fun main(args: Array<String>) = runBlocking<Unit> { val a = async(coroutineContext) { log("I'm computing a piece of the answer") 6 } val b = async(coroutineContext) { log("I'm computing another piece of the answer") 7 } log("The answer is ${a.await() * b.await()}") }
101. Obligatory Summary Slide
102. Verplichte Samenvetting Dia
103. Verplichte Samenvetting Dia → Fail often and hard. Learn from your failures.
104. Verplichte Samenvetting Dia → Fail often and hard. Learn from your failures. → Resist the urge to bend a new language to fit one you already know
105. Verplichte Samenvetting Dia → Fail often and hard. Learn from your failures. → Resist the urge to bend a new language to fit one you already know → Don't worry if the initial examples seem contrived.
106. Verplichte Samenvetting Dia → Fail often and hard. Learn from your failures. → Resist the urge to bend a new language to fit one you already know → Don't worry if the initial examples seem contrived. → Find your friends, true and false.
107. Verplichte Samenvetting Dia → Fail often and hard. Learn from your failures. → Resist the urge to bend a new language to fit one you already know → Don't worry if the initial examples seem contrived. → Find your friends, true and false. → Keep trying. You'll figure it out eventually.
108. ! Bedankt! !