from che-cazzo? department
The past is a foreign country. They do it differently there. – LP Hartley, The Go-Betweens
Precisely. And sometimes a foreign country wants to be the past. Between the faded photograph of Benito Mussolini’s overturned corpse and the ill-received performance of The Tempests of Death at the Teatro Alla Scala lies this inexplicable decision to return Italy to its nationalist roots.
Italians who use English and other foreign words in official communications could face fines of up to 100,000 euros ($108,705) under new legislation introduced by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party.
Fabio Rampelli, a member of the lower house of deputies, presented the legislation supported by the prime minister.
While the legislation covers all foreign languages, it specifically targets “Anglomania”, or the use of English words, which the draft says “demeans and degrades” the Italian language, adding that it is worse because the UK is no longer part of the country. no: AM.
“Humiliates”. “It kills”. Holy hell. This sounds like those frontiersmen who insist that everyone should speak American, even though they can trace their roots back to non-English-speaking countries like Norway, Germany, and perhaps Liechtenstein.
Apparently, Italian citizens (and especially their elected representatives) find it humiliating to throw random e-bombs in conversation. But of course it makes sense to these lawmakers, who have formed a far-right party far more concerned with erasing anything not strictly Italian than solving real problems, all while pretending to be the representative of millions of apparently disenfranchised Italians. It’s basically the Republican Party, but with better fish options at fundraising banquets.
The “Brothers of Italy” have received many labels from political opponents, observers, journalists and outside observers. They are who you expect: “nationalist”, “neo-fascist”, “anti-immigrant”, “nativist”. And now they are making laws. Very stupid laws.
The first article of the legislation guarantees that even in those offices that deal with non-Italian-speaking foreigners, Italian must be the main language used..
Article 2 would make Italian “compulsory for the promotion and use of public goods and services in the national territory”. Failure to do so can result in fines between €5,000 ($5,435) and €100,000 ($108,705)..
The law would transfer language enforcement to the Ministry of Culture, which could levy fines on those using other languages ​​or, as CNN notes, mispronouncing Italian words. Anyone who runs for office must prove a good command of the Italian language [is Latin still ok?] before allowing him to participate in this continuing regression to National Socialism.
Meanwhile, the same ruling party has introduced another bill targeting synthetically produced food on the theory that the move to more sustainable food supplies threatens the “nation’s heritage”.
I suppose some readers will see this and find nothing wrong with it. Why not preserve native languages ​​and cultures? Even if there is a downside (World War II), there is also a downside, as this classic Italian proverb says:
Surely this will work and train in time.
Maybe?
I would like to say that this legislation is going nowhere, but I also found out between 1974 and 2016 that there was no way Donald Trump could have won the presidency. Nothing is beyond imagination at this point. A bunch of dipshits, playing on an even trickier base, are in power. All bets are off. Stupid people will hurt innocent people just to score internet points with the 8chan regulars. That’s how the world works now. Enjoy your illegal English while you can, Italians.
Tag: Anglomania, English, Fines, Foreign Languages, Freedom of Speech, Georgia Meloni, Italian, Italy