The Incipit group: Let’s call them ‘Centres for Identification’, not ‘Hot Spots’

At the ‘Accademia
della Crusca’ (the most important Italian institution for the protection of
Italian language) in Florence, the group Incipit has been formed and is now
active, with the purpose of monitoring new neologisms and words of foreign
languages, when they first appear in the spoken Italian, before they become
usual terms for things.

The group was formed after the 70.000 signatures petition, collected by #Sayitinitalian, and after the Florence
meeting, held on 23rd – 24th February 2015, on ‘The Italian Language and
the Romance languages facing Anglicisms’ (whose records have just appeared in an
e-book). The group is composed by Italian and Swiss scholars and media
specialists: Michele Cortellazzo, Valeria Della Valle, Jean Luc Egger, Claudio
Giovanardi, Claudio Marazzini, Alessio Petralli, Remigio Ratti, Luca Serianni,
Annamaria Testa.

The Incipit group’s purpose is to express an opinion on incoming new
foreign words used in everyday social life. ‘Incipit’ rejects all linguistic
authoritarianisms but, through a reflection and the development of a better linguistic
and civil consciousness, it wants to suggest some alternative to media workers
and politicians who obviously lead the everyday use of language.

This is the reason why the group ‘Incipit’ takes a stand against the use
of the term ‘Hot Spots’ to indicate the Centres for Migrants’ identification
that enter EU, at the same time inviting to the use of the Italian noun. In
fact, the now adopted English burocratic term in the European Union has other,
absolutely different meanings that dangerously overlap the presumed new one
(i.e.: ‘Wi-Fi connecting point’ or ‘Trendy place’, not to consider the Italian
meaning of ‘hot’ in playful, sexual, alimentary settings, which contribute to
hiding its true serious and dramatic meaning for people who are going to arrive
at these centres.

This new sense of ‘Hot spot’ results as offensive, elusive towards reality,
therefore it can be considered as politically incorrect.

Translation: Fernanda Pecile