Esteemed Mr. President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi

The undersigned, Sardinians and non-Sardinians, linguists and non-linguists, academics as well as non-academics had originally united with the intention of inviting you to sign the bill no.3366 on Ethnic and Linguistic Minorities, approved finally by the Italian Parliament 25th November 1999.

Knowing that the President as could be foreseen came before us in assessing necessary this law, we would like to take the opportunity to express to you that we are very pleased with your decision.

To recognize and to preserve the Sardinian, Friulian, Occitan, Valdaostan, German, Franco-Provencal, Sloveninan, Albanese, Croatian, Catalan, Greek, and Ladin languages and cultures present within the territory of the Italian State does not go against the official Italian language. The preservation of diversity is a sign of freedom, open mindedness, of true multiculturalism, and of sincere europeanism.

The undersigned, linguists invite you to sign the ratification of the bill 3366, definitively approved by the Italian Parliament November 25th 1999. The recognition and preservation of the language and cultures of the Sardinian, Friulian, Occitan, Valdaostan, German, Franco-Proven¨al, Slovenian, Albanian, Croatian minorities can do no harm to the Standard Italian language.
The preservation of diversity is a sign of freedom, open mindedness, of true multiculturalism and of sincere europeanism. Moreover, the recognition of the principle that diversity should be preserved could, in the future, turn out to be very useful for the Italian language itself. In a European context, the arguements that are used today against regional languages (the so-called dialects) could just as well be used against present day State-languages. To generate non-standard culture always implies higher financial costs and psychological resistance, but the value of this culture is indespensable for society.
Furthermore, we invite you to promote, in the appropriate places, a constructive debate about the recognition of other languages and cultures such as the ones of the regions Piedmont, Veneto, Sicily, Campania, Emilia Romagna, Liguria, Lombardy. These languages and cultures are already recognised by important studies of the Unesco (The Unesco Red Book of Endangered Languages 93-96) and by several Regional Councils (Veneto, Piedmont, Emilia Romagna).
Linguists consider the hierarchical distinction between "language" and "dialect" an invention of old-fashioned State bureaucracies, still tied to the Romantic concept of State-Nation.
The myth of linguistic homogenity of peoples has played a very important role during the last century. This supposed homogenity would constitute the base of a nation, from which the right or duty to found its own State would follow. In Europe, this myth has contributed to the foundation of several of the States that constitutes the European Union today, and among these States is Italy. To question this myth, however, does not mean to question the unity of a State. On the contrary, to recognise the existence of linguistic diversity means to help the modern State to reform the social agreement between its citizens on a more realistic and, most importantly, on a more democratic basis. Multilingualism is not only a fundamental part of our past, but also an inevitable future for the whole mankind, a very attractive future indeed: the knowledge of several languages is a great richness that many of us are very grateful to possess. Multilingualism is the best insurance against intolerance.

With our best regards and respect,

Nanni Falconi and Roberto Bolognesi

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