I completely agree with your point, though you probably stated it much more concisely than I would have.

I am a relative programming "babe in the woods". I've been at this for about 3 1/2 years or so, and have noticed the following trend in myself and others either learning to program or adding a new language to their belt.

1) Learning the syntax
2) Learning the functions available (builtin and libs)
3) Learning to think in the language
4) Accepting the limitations of the language

When you can think in the language I think you have really started to grok it. You can address your problem from the way the language will be able to deal with it best. Depending on the available capabilities of the language, this could mean you have mastered it (i.e BASIC) or are well on your way to getting into deeper solutions (C, C++, Perl). When you get to the point where you can honestly review a problem and determine that the language probably isnt the right solution, you have become what I would consider a "native".

At that point you are able to cleary define the problem, how to address it in the language, and whether or not that is valid in the given situation.



/* And the Creator, against his better judgement, wrote man.c */