I now Inglish veri good!

Let’s talk today about the rather appalling way that Italians speak foreign languages, especially English. The other day some stats came out. Apparently, only 1/3 of Italians say they know foreign languages. Many instead state that they couldn’t care less to learn other languages. And in many cases, the average Italian only knows English (written English is quite often a total disaster). Other languages are entirely unknown. Some of the greatest “linguists” are the Italian journalists themselves. Just today a female journalist in “La Repubblica” ended her article by saying “Happy End”. Other winners have been: the “sexy” shops that carpet Rome and the rest of Italy. I’ve always wondered if the shop itself is sexy or does it sell articles for sex (therefore, it should be a “sex” shop); “no-stop” hours for Italian shops. I’ve also seen it written as “no stop”. Few though write “non-stop” (as in “non-stop action movies”); the “lifting” is one of my all-times favourites. This came up awhile ago when Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s former Prime Minister, underwent a “face-lift”; “brain train”. Yes, trains that are brains, or vice-versa! This actually came up in relation to good Italian researchers who leave Italy for green pastures, mostly in the U.S. They obviously should have written “brain drain”; “car pole”. Yes, cars that are poles. The American tradition of packing many people in single cars (as in California) as a way to reduce pollution and save on gas has actually been written that way, instead of “car pool”. If there are other bloopers, I’ll definitely let the reader know (or is it “now”?)!