The Italian language, a symbol of national identity and cultural heritage, today shows widespread signs of fragility among Italians. Nearly seven out of ten citizens, according to a survey conducted by Libreriamo on about 1,600 people between the ages of 18 and 65, encounter significant difficulties in grammar, both written and spoken. The monitoring, carried out with SWOA methodology on blogs, forums and major social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube, also involved a panel of twenty experts including sociologists and literati, with the aim of identifying errors, causes and possible strategies to restore consistency in language use.
“Italian, understood as language, is a symbolic place that welcomes us beyond geographical, social and generational differences,” says Saro Trovato, sociologist and founder of Libreriamo. “Language represents a value to be safeguarded, one of our country’s excellences to be protected and enhanced: to do so, it is first of all necessary to know it. In order to contribute to this process of valorization, as Libreriamo we decided to contribute to the rediscovery of the Italian language through play and mental exercise: so we thought of a book, ”501 quizzes on the Italian language,“ with which you can test yourself, alone or with friends, to test your knowledge of our beloved Italian language and at the same time train your mind and memory. Because the Italian language must be known and safeguarded, as it is capable of generating a sense of community, of belonging, of identity.”
Among the most frequent errors is the incorrect use of the apostrophe, with 62 percent of respondents confusing the basic rules of elision and truncation. Forms such as “which is” turn out to be common, while the correct spelling includes “which is” without an apostrophe. The subjunctive is also a critical issue: 56 percent of respondents employ it incorrectly, as in the case of the sentence “The important thing is that you passed the exam,” which would require “The important thing is that you passed the exam.” Difficulty in the correct use of pronouns involves 52 percent of Italians, particularly when referring to female subjects; for example, one often reads “I told him she was very beautiful” instead of the correct form “I told her she was very beautiful.” Verb declension, which includes the use of verb tenses and the choice of auxiliary, is problematic for 50 percent of respondents. Mistakes such as “I went to the movies” instead of “I went to the movies” or the misapplication of irregular verbs reflect a poor grasp of grammatical rules, often influenced by colloquial speech, dialects or local slang. Misuse of C and Q affects 48 percent of cases: frequent examples include “evacuate the building” instead of “evacuate” and “profiquo” instead of “profitable.”
The distinction between “ne” and “nor” also causes confusion in 44 percent of cases, while punctuation is problematic for 39 percent of Italians, with widespread errors in the use of commas, semicolons, and colons. The writing of expressions such as “un po, un po’ or un pò?” shows an increasing tendency to misuse the accent on the word “pò,” while the correct form remains “un po’” with an apostrophe. Similar doubts affect the conjunctions “and” or “and,” “a” or “ad,” with rules for inserting the euphonious “d” often being ignored, and the locution “d’accordo,” sometimes written as “daccordo.”
Other frequent errors include “avvolte” instead of “sometimes” (25 percent), “pultroppo” instead of “purtroppo” (22 percent), and “propio” instead of “proprio” (19 percent). Some more original inaccuracies arise from misinterpretations of words similar to foreign or industry terms, such as “at the linguine” instead of “at the groin” (13%), or from the overuse of K in place of C or CH, as in “Ke what do we do?” (38%). Many digital abbreviations are used incorrectly, such as “I like tt this” (35%) or “nn I can’t stand people who write like this” (34%). The causes of these errors were also identified by experts as theabuse of the internet, neologisms and anglicisms, which would reduce the ability of Italians to write and formulate clear reasoning in their own language. According to the panel, reading regularly (66 percent) is the main strategy for recovering grammatical mastery. Writing by hand (43%) helps consolidate language rules and memory use, while reducing the use of artificial intelligence chatbots (55%) and limiting neologisms and foreign terms (51%) helps prevent widespread errors.
An alternative, playful approach is offered by so-called game-books, such as 501 quizzes on the Italian language, which allow grammar rules to be practiced interactively. The game, based on the principle of retrieval practice (retrieval practice), stimulates memory and strengthens neural connections, promoting lasting learning. Forty-seven percent of the experts involved recommend similar activities to train the mind through questions and answers, consolidating knowledge of the Italian language in a practical and engaging way. The most original errors reported in the study include “I have to wax the linguine,” declension errors of verbs such as “they came to my house,” or incorrect use of pronouns. The combination of linguistic traditions, poor attention to writing, and the influence of digital tools contributes to generating a variety of incorrect forms ranging from the misuse of accent to actual phonetic and spelling alterations.
Libreriamo’s survey thus shows how Italian grammar remains a widespread challenge, involving a large segment of the adult population. Experts point out that language training, consolidation of reading and writing habits and the use of innovative teaching tools are the most effective strategies to reduce errors and promote a more conscious use of the Italian language. In a context where grammar rules risk being neglected, the combination of traditional tools and interactive methods can help strengthen linguistic competence and keep the coherence of our cultural heritage intact.
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| Italians and grammar, nearly 7 in 10 make mistakes: from apostrophe to subjunctive |
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