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.

Transcript

1. Learning a new language while Learning a new language GDG DevFest NL | Amsterdam | November 2017 Ellen Shapiro | @DesignatedNerd | justhum.com
6. !
7. ✌
8. !
9. !!!!!
12. !
16. vs.
17. ANYWAY
23. ->
25. Fail hard. Fail often.
26. Fail hard. Fail often. Learn. Improve.
27. Spreekt je Engels?
28. (iedereen spreekt Engels)
29. Amsterdam ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor...
30. Amsterdam ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor... THEM: Oh don't worry, I speak English!
31. Amsterdam ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor... THEM: Oh don't worry, I speak English! [rest of conversation in English]
32. Nijmegen ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor...
33. Nijmegen ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor... THEM: [smiling and waiting]
34. Nijmegen ME: Kan...ik...uh, betaal...voor... THEM: [smiling and waiting] ME: Uh, mijn...maaltijd met een creditcard?
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.
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...
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?
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!
41. You will try to make a new language bend to fit the language you know
42. Naar vs. Near
43. Ik woon naar het station != I live near the station
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>(SomeService::class.java) } return instance as SomeService }
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>(SomeService::class.java) }
47. Especially early on, examples seem contrived
52. ANYWAY
56. Keep going
57. Keep going (it will eventually make sense)
58. Friends
59. True Friends exactly the same computer -> computer student -> student weekend -> weekend
60. True Friends exactly the same computer -> computer student -> student weekend -> weekend map -> map filter -> filter
61. True Friends exactly the same close enough! computer -> computer werk -> work student -> student oranje -> orange weekend -> weekend tekst -> text map -> map filter -> filter
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
63. False Friends
65. !
67. Slim
70. reduce
74. False friends are easier to remember
75. Words or concepts with no equivalent
76. Gezellig
77. via StuffDutchPeopleLike.com
82. Lekker
83. Lekker!
89. async / await
91. Obligatory Summary Slide
92. Verplichte Samenvetting Dia
93. Verplichte Samenvetting Dia → Fail often and hard. Learn from your failures.
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
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.
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.
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.
98. ! Bedankt! !