If by "all the functional idioms" you mean "doing stuff with functions and whatnot", then by all means, recommend JavaScript. However, once you get done playin

If by "all the functional idioms" you mean "doing stuff with functions and whatnot", then by all means, recommend JavaScript. However, once you get done playing with maps and folds, you'll find that there's a whole world of more important things that the functional paradigm gives you. And these depend on types, and referential transparency.