New legislation introduced by Prime Minister Georgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party seeks to penalize Italians who use English words in official communications with fines up to €100,000, or roughly $109,000, according to CNN.
The legislation, which includes all foreign languages, is especially geared toward English. The draft, introduced by Fabio Rampelli, a member of the lower chamber of deputies, states that use of the English language “demeans and mortifies” the Italian language, according to CNN. The draft further states that the offense caused by using the English language in official communications is exacerbated by the fact that the United Kingdom is no longer part of the European Union.
According to CNN, the legislation is composed of two articles. The first outlines that even in offices that have dealings with non-Italian-speaking foreigners, Italian must be the primary language. The second aims to make Italian “mandatory for the promotion of public goods and services in the national territory.” Disregarding these proposed rules could result in fines between €5,000, or $5,435, and €100,000, roughly $109,000.
The move to safeguard the Italian language follows closely on an existing push by the government to ban food grown in laboratories in a bid to safeguard Italy’s culinary heritage.
Francesco Lollobrigida, the head of the country’s Ministry for Agriculture and food sovereignty, spoke of the importance of Italy's culinary heritage. The move was also supported by the farmers’ lobby. "Laboratory products do not guarantee the quality, well-being, and the protection of the Italian food and wine culture and tradition, to which part of our tradition is linked,” said Lollobrigida, according to The BBC. If this proposal is accepted, breaking the ban would result in fines of up to €60,000 ($65,700).
However, animal welfare groups and supporters of synthetic, cell-based food argue that food grown in laboratories avoids the need for animals to be killed and is all around better for the environment, according to The Guardian.
Asia London Palomba
Asia London Palomba is a trilingual freelance journalist from Rome, Italy. In the past, her work on culture, travel, and history has been published in The Boston Globe, Atlas Obscura, The Christian Science Monitor, and Grub Street, New York Magazine's food section. In her free time, Asia enjoys traveling home to Italy to spend time with family and friends, drinking Hugo Spritzes, and making her nonna's homemade cavatelli.