The title itself is a recipe for disaster. Also this is a semi rant.
Yesterday I was informed that I will have the honour to implement the core functionality - which is an interface layer to use the driver of a very expensive hardware shit - of the software I’ve been working on as a frontend dev.
There are two possibilities for the language: C++ or C#. The one that was proposed/imposed is C#, which I know nothing of, while at least I have some hobbyist experience with C++; when asked if I could take some time to familiarise myself with C# I was basically laughed in the face, saying I will learn on the field and at least some of them have some experience with it.
Should I insist to go with C++, or is that an even worse idea in an already fucked up situation?
It’s not a fucked up situation. I’m a Ruby developer and I got hired in a Scala shop with no experience. It took just a couple weeks to get up to speed and everyone was understanding.
Since you know programming principles already, the difference between languages is mostly in their APIs. But even experienced developers spend half their time reading docs about APIs. It’s nothing out of the ordinary.