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> My native tongue is Spanish, but I'm also fluent in English, French and German; however I find myself thinking in all of them I think the point is that you c
by Twisol 16y ago
> My native tongue is Spanish, but I'm also fluent in English, French and German; however I find myself thinking in all of them
I think the point is that you can only readily think in terms of what you know. Now, if you're fluent in English, French, German, and Spanish, it's almost a given that you'll be able to think in terms of any of the prominent concepts in those languages. I think the author was really saying that, if you learn a language with a broad range of concepts first, it can only help you as you progress, because you'll be able to actively use those concepts.
For example, I know a number of imperative languages, but I've only recently experimented with functional languages like Lisp. The conceptual shift is fascinating, and something I wouldn't have quite grasped if I constrained myself to imperative languages.
- sp4rki 16y agoActually the author kind of made the distinction that he believes your first language should be so an so, so it becomes the 'base thinking platform' (so to speak) in which a programmer develops code in his mind. I agree with you though, you can mostly think (in real life and in programming) in terms of languages you're already fluent in; however being introduced to a new concept can give way to new ways of thinking that can probably be expressed in every language, albeit poorly in some.