The Italian Embassy has defended the equal dignity of Italian in the Brazilian Congress, safeguarding the possibility of choosing it in the study of the second language in high school, and thus giving more than 30 million Italian descendants the chance to maintain close ties with their origins.
An important result with a symbolic value, Ambassador Alessandro Cortese observed, "especially in the 150th anniversary of Italian immigration to Brazil".
'Having the opportunity to study the language linked to one's roots,' notes the diplomat, 'is fundamental for keeping one's cultural identity alive.
Also pressing to leave the door open to language plurality were the embassies of France (led by its assertive policy on language), Germany and Japan, the latter also linked to Brazil by large communities of migrants.
A success in the face of the risk - which emerged during the Senate debate - that the teaching of the second language in high school would be limited to Spanish alone, (the second most studied language in Brazil).
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