I think it's more like learning to express yourself in a different style, rather than learning an entirely different language. The style we are accustomed to a

I think it's more like learning to express yourself in a different style, rather than learning an entirely different language. The style we are accustomed to allows for an interlocutor with significant ability to fill in the gaps in what you've said or written. To read appropriate context and subtext into your words and interpret them meaningfully despite ambiguity. The style we must learn when programming is to remove all possible ambiguity and subtext, and explicitly provide a context (arguments, scope, closure, environment, etc.) for evaluation. When we learn a new language we learn new vocabulary and alternate syntax but we still express ourself in the same style. When we learn a new style we must unlearn and relearn all of our assumptions about how language is interpreted. That's what learning programming is like.