Courts in Italy must respect tradition and avoid the novelty of gender-neutral symbols in official documents, according to the Accademia della Crusca, Italy’s most important research institution but also the oldest linguistic academy in the world.

The Accademia della Crusca made the recommendation after Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassation’s equal opportunities commission asked for its opinion on the matter, illustrating the national debate over gender and political correctness, Reuters reported on Monday, citing Agerpres.

In Italian, as in other languages ​​of Latin origin, nouns can be either feminine or masculine, but the masculine plural form is preferred. For example, the masculine form “tutti” is usually used for “all”, not the feminine “tutte”.

Some see this as an expression of male dominance and support the introduction of gender-neutral noun endings, such as asterisks or the so-called “seam”, a symbol that looks like an upside-down “e”.

For example, an email or letter addressed to a man or a woman will no longer start with “caro” or “cara” (beloved), but with the neuter “car*”, which will also replace the plural “cari”.

“Legal language is not the place for innovative experiments of minorities”

The Accademia della Crusca, in a response to a request from the Court of Cassation, rejected the use of these changes in official documents, citing that they would be artificial and would only be supported by minority groups, “however well-intentioned” such an approach may be. be.

“Legal language is not the right place for innovative experiments with minorities,” said the Accademia della Crusca’s six-page text, seen by Reuters on Monday after the Corriere della Sera newspaper first reported it.

The Academy of Linguistics said that the masculine plural form in Italian remains the “best tool” to collectively represent “all genders and orientations”, but also supported the wider use of the feminine gender for professional titles.

In October, Italy’s first female prime minister, Giorgia Maloni, sparked controversy after saying she preferred her title “Presidente del Consiglio” to be preceded by the masculine article “il” rather than the feminine “la.”