Learning two languages at once (unadvisable)
Relevant quotes from two articles from Google’s top search results.
Mistake 3. Learning Two Similar Languages at Once
Learners not ready to heed the above advice will often come up with a “shortcut” that seemingly avoids the problem of limited resources — learning two closely-related languages at once.
… …
Closely-related languages can be a blessing and a curse. If you learn them sequentially, you’ll be able to learn the second language quicker than you learned the first. However, if you learn them simultaneously, they’ll interfere with each other, and you’ll have a truly difficult time learning either one to fluency.
https://www.brainscape.com/blog/2017/01/learn-two-languages-at-once/
Pick two languages that are very different from each other. For many people, this sounds counterintuitive, but picking two dissimilar languages helps you minimize the confusion between them. If you try to learn Italian and Spanish, many words, grammar concepts, and even conjugations are likely to blur, preventing you from mastering either. Chinese and German, on the other hand, have so little in common that mixing the two up should be basically impossible.
[archive of my original thoughts relating to learning Haskell and GF simultaneously]
I’ve been wondering whether “don’t learn two languages at the same time” applies to Haskell and GF. Their similarity means it’s easier to learn GF after Haskell. The subtle differences mean it can be a bit confusing switching between the two while learning both at the same time. (Such effects may not necessarily be felt consciously. The brain just wastes some CPU and RAM in the background disambiguating the two.)
At best, the effect could well be minute (in an additive way); at worst, somewhat significant (multiplicative). But in principle, if there’s no hurry to learn GF, I think it may be best to postpone GF for now.
