Upgrade to Pro — share decks privately, control downloads, hide ads and more …

Learning A New Language While Learning A New Language - GDG DevFest NL, November 2017

Learning A New Language While Learning A New Language - GDG DevFest NL, November 2017

My talk from the GDG DevFest Netherlands about learning Dutch and Kotlin 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.

Ellen Shapiro
PRO

November 18, 2017
Tweet

More Decks by Ellen Shapiro

Other Decks in Technology

Transcript

  1. Learning a new language while
    Learning a new language
    GDG DevFest NL | Amsterdam | November 2017
    Ellen Shapiro | @DesignatedNerd | justhum.com

    View Slide

  2. View Slide

  3. View Slide

  4. View Slide

  5. View Slide

  6. !

    View Slide


  7. View Slide

  8. !

    View Slide

  9. !!!!!

    View Slide

  10. View Slide

  11. View Slide

  12. !

    View Slide

  13. View Slide

  14. View Slide

  15. View Slide

  16. vs.

    View Slide

  17. ANYWAY

    View Slide

  18. View Slide

  19. View Slide

  20. View Slide

  21. View Slide

  22. View Slide

  23. ->

    View Slide

  24. View Slide

  25. Fail hard.
    Fail often.

    View Slide

  26. Fail hard.
    Fail often.
    Learn.
    Improve.

    View Slide

  27. Spreekt je Engels?

    View Slide

  28. (iedereen spreekt Engels)

    View Slide

  29. Amsterdam
    ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor...

    View Slide

  30. Amsterdam
    ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor...
    THEM: Oh don't worry, I speak English!

    View Slide

  31. Amsterdam
    ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor...
    THEM: Oh don't worry, I speak English!
    [rest of conversation in English]

    View Slide

  32. Nijmegen
    ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor...

    View Slide

  33. Nijmegen
    ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor...
    THEM: [smiling and waiting]

    View Slide

  34. Nijmegen
    ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor...
    THEM: [smiling and waiting]
    ME: Uh, mijn...maaltijd met een creditcard?

    View Slide

  35. Nijmegen
    ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor...
    THEM: [smiling and waiting]
    ME: Uh, mijn...maaltijd met een creditcard?
    THEM: Nee, we accepteren alleen pinpas.

    View Slide

  36. 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...

    View Slide

  37. 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?

    View Slide

  38. 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!

    View Slide

  39. View Slide

  40. View Slide

  41. You will try to make a new language
    bend to fit
    the language you know

    View Slide

  42. Naar vs. Near

    View Slide

  43. Ik woon naar het station
    !=
    I live near the station

    View Slide

  44. 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::class.java)
    }
    return instance as SomeService
    }

    View Slide

  45. Moar Kotlin-ier Singleton
    val instance: SomeService by lazy {
    val retrofit = Retrofit.Builder()
    .baseUrl("https://example.com")
    .addConverterFactory(GsonConverterFactory.create())
    .build()
    retrofit.create(SomeService::class.java)
    }

    View Slide

  46. View Slide

  47. Especially early on, examples
    seem contrived

    View Slide

  48. View Slide

  49. View Slide

  50. View Slide

  51. View Slide

  52. ANYWAY

    View Slide

  53. View Slide

  54. View Slide

  55. View Slide

  56. Keep going

    View Slide

  57. Keep going
    (it will eventually make sense)

    View Slide

  58. Friends

    View Slide

  59. True Friends
    exactly the same
    computer -> computer
    student -> student
    weekend -> weekend

    View Slide

  60. True Friends
    exactly the same
    computer -> computer
    student -> student
    weekend -> weekend
    map -> map
    filter -> filter

    View Slide

  61. True Friends
    exactly the same close enough!
    computer -> computer werk -> work
    student -> student oranje -> orange
    weekend -> weekend tekst -> text
    map -> map
    filter -> filter

    View Slide

  62. True Friends
    exactly the same close enough!
    computer -> computer werk -> work
    student -> student oranje -> orange
    weekend -> weekend tekst -> text
    map -> map struct -> data class
    filter -> filter enum -> enum class

    View Slide

  63. False Friends

    View Slide

  64. View Slide

  65. !

    View Slide

  66. View Slide

  67. Slim

    View Slide

  68. View Slide

  69. View Slide

  70. reduce

    View Slide

  71. View Slide

  72. View Slide

  73. View Slide

  74. False friends are easier
    to remember

    View Slide

  75. Words or concepts with
    no equivalent

    View Slide

  76. Gezellig

    View Slide

  77. via StuffDutchPeopleLike.com

    View Slide

  78. View Slide

  79. View Slide

  80. View Slide

  81. View Slide

  82. Lekker

    View Slide

  83. Lekker!

    View Slide

  84. View Slide

  85. View Slide

  86. View Slide

  87. View Slide

  88. View Slide

  89. async / await

    View Slide

  90. View Slide

  91. Obligatory Summary Slide

    View Slide

  92. Verplichte Samenvetting Dia

    View Slide

  93. Verplichte Samenvetting Dia
    → Fail often and hard. Learn from your failures.

    View Slide

  94. 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

    View Slide

  95. 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.

    View Slide

  96. 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.

    View Slide

  97. 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.

    View Slide

  98. ! Bedankt! !

    View Slide