Programming is a fairly universal skill. You learn how to do it in one language and the principals then transfer to most other languages fairly easily. It isn't like learning a spoken language at all. The proliferation of the internet also makes it easier than ever to pick up a different language and move forward with help form friendly communities across the world.
The bottom line? well, in order to quickly and easily program some stuff for a Raspberry Pi, I'm learning Python. It seems to be going quite well so far, although some of the structures and conventions are a little bit alien to an aged BASIC programmer like me. Once again, this is a non-graphical environment. The programs being written are geared towards controlling and sensing the real world - think switches, motors, relays and sensors.
What is great is the range of modules and examples available. I can get things moving quickly and feel like I'm making real progress. Hopefully, as I get better at remembering the syntax, I'll get a bit quicker than I am at the moment and won't feel the urge to just step back and do it in BASIC!