Has Italy come to terms with the inevitable? The unfurling of the red carpet is underway.
“Italy: Arabic lessons on public service portal,” from AKI:
Rome, 17 July (Aki) – After English, Spanish and Chinese, the Italian state service e-portal has begun offering Arabic language lessons on line.
The National Centre for Computing in the Public Service (CNIPA) which created and runs the site, is providing a course for complete beginners or for those with only a rudimentary knowledge of Arabic.
Reading, writing, listening and speaking are the four categories and the course makes much use of common expressions from everyday life.
A recent study conducted by a leading research institute in Italy, showed that the most popular non-European language to learn these days is Arabic.
It is understandable that the state would sponsor English and Spanish lessons, as these are primary languages on whole continents. And the Chinese surge on the economic scene creates a natural demand in the business world to learn that language.
And then there is Arabic. I wonder who was polled in that recent study. I wonder if the respondents speak any Italian at all.
Crossposted from The American Israeli Patriot.