Thursday, June 7, 2007

McJob?

Do I have a McJob? The current definition according to the OED is "an unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, especially one created by the expansion of the service sector." While this could apply to many temporary positions as well as burger-flinging positions, I guess I am disqualified because I am not necessarily working in the service sector. The rest of the definition pretty much applies.

McDonald's quest to get the term "McJob" erased from the dictionary demonstrates its continued arrogance. If a word is taken out of the dictionary, does it mean that it won't be used? Won't it simply find a new home in a slang dictionary if the OED bends to McDonald's wishes? Even simply changing the nuances of the definition wouldn't do much to change the way people understand the word. Everyone knows that a McJob is a job that goes nowhere and pays very little. If only McDonald's spent its time and money on more beneficial enterprises - like actually changing the conditions of the job so that the word and its definition are no longer accurate. Wouldn't it be nice to see the definition of McJob become "a well-paid union job in the fast food service sector that guarantees pay at least 20% above minimum wage with employee benefits including health care plans and opportunities for career advancement and continuing education." Unlikely.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

"A word means exactly what I want it to mean - neither more nor less. It is the matter of who is the master."
-Humpty Dumpty in _Alice in Wonderland_ by Louis Carroll

"Newspeak is closely based on English but has a greatly reduced and simplified vocabulary and grammar (e.g., 'good' means 'to love Big Brother'; 'bad' is deleted from the language because 'ungood' means 'bad'; therefore there is now no literal concept to express the term, 'Big Brother is bad')." Wikipedia (not an authority by any means but close enough and concise this time)

Words mean what the majority of users want them to mean. It is the job of the Dictionary writer (the Linguist) to be an observer of the language and chronicle it's usage. No where is a Linguist subject to the highest bidder.

You can try to edit reality but reality always wins.
-me