The High-Level Language Conundrum Regarding the Continuation of my "Self-Learning" Path towards Embedded Systems

Question

[Title was a joke lol]
[Additional Information Below Main Question]
[Any Information from Experienced People would be MOST Welcome]

Question is this:

What are the MOST relevant High-Level Languages to learn - *in 2019*- if one is ultimately working towards programming - *Specifically* - Embedded Systems?? (possibly 'soft' / 'hard' Real-Time Systems too)
[I am interested in working on systems with very little memory and scarce resources; low-cost]
[Are any Functional Languages used now-a-days?]

I have been learning 'C' and know that this is a great language to use because it gives the programmer access to low-level functionality while still maintaining high-level abstraction. 'C' also allows for incredibly small sized programs and is very portable - it is usually much easier to find 'C' compilers for various micro-controllers/processors than other languages. 'C' is also "Lightning-Fast".

Other High-Level Languages that I have considered learning for Embedded Systems are:
**Ada(it seems "ready-built"; with it's Tasks, built-in Concurrent and Distributed functionality, and built-in Real-Time functionality; not to mention how Ada is designed to be as safe as possible - avoiding many of C's pitfalls and programmer errors);
**SPARK(derived from Ada, and built from the ground-up - specifically for error-prevention/safety; it seems like a perfect language to learn after Ada and will allow me to learn about that sector of computing);
**Java(Uhhhhh....; a possibility... though i doubt real-world applications; it's built-in support for concurrency / distributed programs, and real-time functionality is beneficial; my main 'interest' in Java is learning about the truly amazing JVM.)
**TCL / Lua - (Both of these seem interesting.. tho I'm doubtful they have real applications)

Well, out of room..
Thanks!!
>>SHAM

..

Answer 1

I guess my first thought is to keep going with C.

My second thought is how do you see yourself using a high level language to benefit embedded software?