If your team is using X language and not Y, then it will be prudent to follow.
The word programming can rub some HW guys off the wrong way, it can only safely be used to infer downloading the bit file to FPGA or PROM.
Most HW guys design or develop or engineer HW, those that "program" are coming from the SW side with all that baggage of sequential thinking rather than parallel.
Since you have a HW background, I'd suggest the Doug Smith book, which I suggested a thousand times already., google douglas smith verilog vhdl fpga asic
It covers X/Y languages examples for FPGA and ASIC, it is not a HW teaching book, it assume you know basics. it gives schematics, hdl for X/Y and synthesized output.
Also Palnitker is recomended, initially Verilog, I think its been VHDLed.
Why didn't you ask your HW co workers, most EEs would be more than willing to help a co worker get interested in what they are doing. You may even graduate into the team after brushing up.
I had the same issue, when I did the deep guts of the HW ASIC/FPGA and some interface to their SW, it took a year before I could convince the driver HW-SW guy to do his own damn HW interface that would work with his own damn SW. Eventually he did and the results were far better for all concerned.
The problem I always find is not enough people who know both sides and can think laterally enough to design the right HW interface to SW.
Usually if the interface between HW-SW is done by HW guy with no clue about SW stack and the SW guys don't even know how to describe FSMs then you get pretty poor results.
look like you could help out on both sides
good luck
johnjakson at usa dot com