Best functionnal language?

I have a basic knowledge of how imperative languages work and I'd like to try out a functionnal language. I've heard they are actually slower than imperative languages.
Is that true? If it is, what advantages do those languages bring and what's the most relevant fp language right now?

in fact, von neumann's architecture can express any conceptions, so that OOP and FP is most publicized special case of pointers to functions

Symta. Because it allows you to write 123 + if A < B then B else A

>>3
Wouldn't that make Symta an imperative language?

in C programmer can write same "declaratively recursive with inference" shit but does not
becasue he have cycles conditional and variable which far better all FP shit

Which FP? There are "FP" with side effects (as in Scheme, for example), purely FP, total FP.

REAL Purely FP are the most useless shit because you can't get the result of processing your data because [b][i]MUH SIDE EFFECTS[/b][/i]

>>4
Nope. It just allows writing stuff liek:
  Scalar * matrix.| A B
                  | C D

Parsing into
("*" "Scalar" ("." "matrix" ("|" ("A" "B") ("C" "D"))))

>>7
Useless, until you enter grid computing.

>>3
yeah because that doesn't work in haskell

The only real, mature FPL today is Haskell.
It's useless to ask which one is best if there is only one.
The real question you should be asking yourself is: "How can Haskell be improved in the future in order to become the first good programming language in the history of humanity?"

>>5
>>2
Back to /c/, please. It's working again.

>>1
First use Scheme as a trainer's wheel for a while then Erlang and Haskell because they complement each other in their weaknesses. Other than these language's predecessors most of the rest are posers that just usurp everything without too much formal reasoning ("multi-paradigm" stuff).

These languages are slower, no doubt, and by learning it you'll recognize their utility anyway... or forever be like Cudder whom also vouches for PHP.

придумывают разные хачкели-хуйчкели, мондады-хуйячкили
а программы все также разрабатываются медленно дорого и получается таже хуйня
потомушто все далвют неправильна !!!
надо всех ненужных гуманитариев отправить в концлагеря на стройки века
а людаям с нормальными мозгами назначить 3 государственных жены
пройдет 23 года и проблема высокой стоимости разработки и низкого качества программ будет навсегда решена

Okay thanks

Or ATS, really. It combines both, imperative and functional.