SMS messages aren't a threat to the Italian language yet, says the national watchdog on proper Italian.
But teachers must be on their guard to stop SMS-isms creeping into their students' essays, according to the Accademia della Crusca, the world's oldest guardian of linguistic propriety.
The Florence-based academy, which dates back to the 16th century, organised a conference here Friday on phonespeak and SMS neologisms.
The conference - part of a raft of events celebrating 'Florentine Genius' - came to the conclusion that SMS's weren't yet quite the threat that some purists think.
But there have been some signs of young Italians using the more common abbreviations - X for 'per' (for), XK? for perche? (why?), QLK for 'qualche' (some) - in their student compositions.
"Schools and teaching staff will have to be firm to stop this type of usage degenerating into bad habits that will be hard to root out," said the deputy of head of the academy, Nicoletta Maraschio.
"What we have to give young students is an awareness of the differences between spoken and written grammar," Maraschio went on.
"SMS-isms, with their search for brevity and freedom, can be compared to the neologisms of the spoken language, which has always been evolving.
"The written language, on the other hand, takes much longer to change because, in order to be used correctly, it has to preserve a certain rigidity".
The Accademia della Crusca was founded in Florence in 1583 and brought out its first dictionary in 1612.
It brings together scholars and experts in Italian linguistics and philology, loyal to its mission of maintaining the purity of the Italian language.
It was the model for linguistic watchdogs in other countries - most notably the hallowed Academie Francaise.
