“A buon intenditor poche parole”. Qualche riflessione sulla comunicazione istituzionale per le comunità con background migratorio

The need for an evolution of institutional communication in Italian that could enhance its intelligibility is still a pressing one. Of particular significance is the positive impact that this linguistic evolution may have for the inclusion of communities with migrant backgrounds. It is a crucial evolution which is also needed to fill the gap that still exists between everyday spoken language and the language used in written institutional communication. In this paper, we analyse the readability and intelligibility of some texts issued by Italian institutions. Our study points out that many problematic aspects, emphasized in the literature on Italian bureaucratic language, also feature in institutional texts addressed to foreigners. The analysis indicates that institutions show a low degree of awareness about immigrants’ communicative needs and expectations, but also about the social functions that the Italian language should play in a plurilingual and intercultural society.