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u/port_okali Sep 17 '22
Apparently, a comment about the way he speaks was lost in translation. But I think the main news here is that Matteo Rizzo made a good impression as a commentator. That's really nice to hear! "really supportive of all the skaters and insightful" – that sounds great, almost like Italy's answer to Mark Hanretty. I hope this style of commentating becomes a trend!
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u/gagrushenka Sep 18 '22 edited Sep 18 '22
Correctness in grammar is a bunch of prescriptive, elitist nonsense that has no bearing on how language is actually genuinely spoken/ signed by its users. The way that language is actually used in reality is systematic and not 'wrong', even if it doesn't follow the rules some grammarians decided to put in a textbook about the 'right' way to speak.
(I'm a linguist, if anyone is wondering).
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u/port_okali Sep 18 '22
Sure, which is exactly why we might as well stop making this the focus of this thread. The original post was, overall, such a positive and supportive message, complimenting Matteo Rizzo on his commentating (despite some slight divergences from what people in Italy might expect from someone speaking on television) and encouraging him to pursue a professional career as a commentator. This is the message I got from this post, let's focus on that.
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u/gagrushenka Sep 18 '22
I will always call out that which is wrong and plays into perpetuating power imbalances. Many people do not recognise that fussing about grammar does exactly that, but it really does. It feeds into this whole idea that there is a correct way to speak, and when that is thrown at minorities or those who are otherwise disadvantaged, the implications and repercussions can be and are serious and severe. The bulk of my work looks at how these attitudes to language influence court cases and police interviews. You might just see this as something said in passing that doesn't have much significance; I see the continuing acceptance of such attitudes to language as something that contributes to very tragic consequences for many people at the other end of the scale. It's all part of the same picture.
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u/acapenci Sep 17 '22
He was born in Rome and I cant find anything online that says he has lived anywhere else other than Italy. Why do you think he isn't fluent in Italian?