(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 31 - Premier Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy (FdI) part has filed a bill aimed at banning the use of foreign words and terms in Italian, an increasingly common occurrence which was recently stigmatized by former premier and ex-European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi.
The bill presented by FdI's House Deputy Speaker Fabio Rampelli would institute fines ranging from 5,000 to 100,000 euros for public employees using foreign instead of Italian words in any public communication, for firms that employ foreign terms for job titles, and for schools and universities using non-Italian expressions, unless this is justified by the presence of foreign students.
"The use of Italian will be obligatory for using all goods and services, and in all other walks of life, where non-Italian terms have become rife leaving many people baffled," said Rampelli.
The FDI bill says "Anglomania has negative repercussions on the whole of society...and the spread of English undermines and mortifies Italian," adding that "the inconsiderate use of English words and acronyms defining roles in companies is paradoxical, in light of the UK's choice to leve Europe".
Draghi last year chided people for using foreign terms to try to sound more important, saying Italian was a beautiful and expressive tongue that needed nos substitute and observing that many people who do not know English, the main culprit, are left in the dark.
The left-leaning opposition 5-Star Movement (M5S) accused the FdI of inconsistency since the industry ministry has been renamed 'Made in Italy Ministry', saying "does Rampelli want to disown his colleague Adolfo Urso, the business and made in Italy minister.
The centre-left opposition Democratic Party (PD) accused the government of wanting to turn the clock back to the days of Fascist 'autarky', when cocktails were renamed 'Harlequins' due to their bright colours and jazz legend Louis Armstrong became Luigi Braccioforte.
It also noted that Meloni called herself an underdog, in English, when describing her rise to the premiership.
photo: Rampelli (ANSA).