The proliferation of the English language is easily observed in our modern world. Words such as "hi" and "okay" are used by people all over the globe, regardless of their mother tongue. In eastern European countries (like Bosnia) if you're a crack-up you're called "funny" and when you say thank you for something, the reply you get is "no problem." Obviously, globalization is to blame, if blame need be assigned. English is now secure in its global status due to factors like the Internet and free trade, but more realistically, it's because of the historical colonization of distant lands by our mother country, Britain. There are those who resist our language's glorious dominion. The Dante Alighieri Society, a well-known cultural institute in Italy, has asked Italian citizens to avoid what they call Anglitaliano, which is the mixture of English words in every-day Italian. According to a survey the society conducted, the most commonly used words of English origin are "il weekend," "okay" and "cool." In the Italian business scene you'll hear words like "briefing" and "mission."

The Dante Alighieri Society claims its survey shows that "Italians want their language to receive more respect." Its aim is to discourage Italian citizens from speaking Anglitaliano and to instead use the Italian equivalents-- for example, fine settimana instead of "il weekend." Is this really necessary in this day and age?"

Languages have been evolving and changing for thousands of years. Even modern English is a compilation and mixture of older languages like Latin, French and German. Just because English happens to be a relatively young upstart doesn't give cause for other nations to ensure that their citizens don't use it in tandem with their own oh-so-reputable languages. One Italian woman who was interviewed by the BBC said, "People think it's chic to use English words, but I don't like it at all. It's important to keep language clean."

My dispute is not with her concerns about protecting language and culture. My concern is far more personal and self-righteous, with a hint of smugness. Does the act of incorporating English words into a foreign language really make that language unclean? The Italian woman's words seem to suggest it and I, as an Anglophone, am wounded. Is this so-called cleanliness really that important? Should we all be striving for vernacular purity? Perhaps, as a response, we Anglophones should "cleanse" our language of all foreign intervention. We don't have to drink espressos anymore, instead we can drink "concentrated coffee beverages." Ladies won't be wearing bras anymore-- the word "bra" comes from the French word brassiere-- instead, women can wear "breast-covering undergarments." But purifying our language of all foreign words would be extremely inconvenient. Hell, even taking a leak would become difficult, since we could no longer use the French term "toilet." Instead we'll have to call the toilet what it was originally named, "the valve-less water waste preventer." (On a curious side-note, the toilet was invented by a man named Thomas P. Crapper-- no joke). Not only is my faux proposal absurd, it's probably impossible. In an age of integration and connection, this separation of languages seems unnecessary and backwards.