(Finance) – “If it is agreed that foreigners assimilate on the fundamental values written in the Constitution, this will happen more easily if the majority of classes are Italians, if they study Italian intensively where they do not already know it well, if Italian history, literature, art and music are taught in depth in schools, if parents will also be involved in learning the Italian language and culture and if they will not live in separate communities”. These are the words used by the Minister of Education Joseph Valditara a few weeks on its social channels to indicate some of the government’s objectives on the subject of school.
“In my opinion, the censors of the sentence written or dictated by the Minister missed the fact that the period in question is not wrong, even if it gives rise to a rather complex sentence – commented Prof. Claudio Marazzini, Honorary President of the Accademia della Crusca and Professor Emeritus at the University of Eastern Piedmont –. The criticism of the use of the verbs present here derives from a linear interpretation, the following: in the hypothetical series if it will be, if they will study, if they will be involved, if they will not live, the subjunctive is taught is extraneous and anomalous. However, “if it is taught” can have a precise value: it expresses a state of greater eventuality with respect to the context, like a sort of desire; is valid “if it is taught, as I hope”, “if it is taught in schools, as I hope”. It can therefore be interpreted as an optative subjunctive, in reference to an eventuality hoped for by the writer, possible and achievable, but which the writer himself fears may not occur, and in that case there will be negative effects on the other hypotheses formulated with the future. In this sense, the subjunctive is acceptable, although rather refined, even if – as we said – it differs from the series of other verbs in the future, active and passive”, he added.
“Overall I could observe that a text of this kind has aroused controversy because the communication on social, through slogans, preferably requires an elementary syntax. The syntax of the message, rather elaborate, was therefore out of context in this case. This is the major flaw that can be attributed to the writer: not the violation of grammarbut the violation of the communication habits required by the social environment in which the communication took place”, concluded the professor.