After Banning Chat GPT, Italy Goes On To Ban the English Language

According to the Italian political party led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the spread of English "demeans and mortifies the Italian language and has negative repercussions for society as a whole." So just a day after they became the first Western nation to ban the usage of Chat GPT, the government is also considering a ban on English in all formal communications as a way to protect the Italian cultural identity and language.

The proposal has attracted a wide share of criticism, but here's a non-obvious question: what if it works?

The spread of English has undeniably had a negative impact on the survival of languages across the globe. While Italian isn't considered an endangered language, the desire to protect it by any means necessary isn't hard to understand. Requiring formal communications from the government and corporations to be in Italian could help to do that. Or perhaps it's just another short-sighted and fear-based policy from small-minded politicians.