Is this saying that a new language is the barrier to learning a new language?
We would expect that an aspiring architect needs to learn a little bit of notation, and a lot about the tradeoffs and constraints of making a building. We should expect that programmers learn a little bit of notation, and a lot about the tradeoffs and constraints of making software.
Knowing your tools well is important, but not sufficient. Focusing on "programming languages" makes people think that the important part is the notation. It is not.
There is also I think a difference between Architecture and software development in that an architect aims to design and plan with drawings and documents a building that in the end is distinct from them, whereas software development produces a set of documents that are synonymous with the software itself.
No. This has been tried a lot and has mostly failed. The notation can be a barrier but it isn't the hardest part.