Ronald McDonald VS The English Language

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...472971,00.html

Quote:

The word has only been in the English language for two decades, but the hamburger chain McDonald's would like to see the word "McJob" McEliminated from the dictionary -- the fast food firm is not lovin' the OED's definition.

It's a bit of job-seeking advice that parents have been dishing out to their aimless, unskilled, post-high school offspring for decades: You can always work at McDonald's.

And many have taken that advice. It is estimated that fully one out of every eight workers in the United States has put in stints behind the counters of the fast-food McGiant. Most of them have been eager to leave as quickly as possible. Low pay, poor prestige, and less-than-haute cuisine combine to make the job of a burger flipper McSpurned.

But at least the job shouldn't be denigrated in the English language as well. McDonald's Corp. on Tuesday restarted its push to get the word "McJob" removed from dictionaries -- and has set its sights on the gold standard of lexicons, the Oxford English Dictionary.

From the point of view of the fast-food proletariat, the reason for the McLanguage offensive is clear: The word McJob, as the OED definition makes clear, is "depreciative." It goes on to define the term as: "An unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, esp. one created by the expansion of the service sector." It found its way into the dictionary in March 2001, 15 years after it was apparently coined by the Washington Post.

"Dictionaries are supposed to be paragons of accuracy. And it this case, they got it completely wrong," Walt Riker, a Mickey D's McSpokesman complained to the Associated Press. "It's a complete disservice and incredibly demeaning to a terrific work force and a company that's been a jobs and opportunity machine for 50 years."

The company says it will kick off its campaign in May in an attempt to change the "out-of-date" definition, as McDonald's spokeswoman Amanda Pierce called the McJob entry. But the hamburger giant may have to break out some special sauce for the effort. In 2003, the Merriam-Webster dictionary -- which defines McJob as "a low-paying job that required little skill and provides little opportunity of advancement" -- elected not to remove the word, despite McPressure.

The OED, for its part, has released a statement indicating it will likely also retain the word. "We can confirm that we monitor changes in the language and reflect these in our definitions, according to the evidence we find," the statement sent to SPIEGEL ONLINE reads.

There are other indications that Greasy McD's may be fighting a losing McBattle. The OED also has an entry for the entire "Mc" prefix, defining it as a depreciative prefix attached "chiefly to nouns to form nouns with the sense 'something that is of mass appeal, a standardized or bland variety... .'" McMansion -- "a modern house built on a large and imposing scale, but regarded as ostentatious and lacking in architectural integrity" -- is also in the dictionary.

The burger joint itself has coined a couple of OED entries. "Quarter pounder" makes an appearance. So too, does the (transitive) verb "to supersize," defined as "To increase the size of, esp. to extravagant proportions."

Changing any of these entries will be quite a McJob.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAND in the follow up....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6683365.stm

Quote:

Fast-food giant McDonald's has launched a petition to get the dictionary definition of a McJob changed.

The Oxford English Dictionary currently describes a McJob as "an unstimulating low-paid job with few prospects".

McDonald's says this definition is now "out of date and insulting", and claims a survey found that 69% of the UK population agree it needs updating.

The campaign by the firm's UK arm is backed by the government's skills envoy and former CBI boss Sir Digby Jones.

'Making a stand'

"The current definition is extremely insulting to the 67,000 people who work for us within the UK," said McDonald's senior vice president David Fairhurst.

"It is also insulting for everyone else who works in the wider restaurant and tourism sectors.

"It is time for us now to make a stand and get the Oxford English Dictionary to change the definition."

McDonald's says that in its staff surveys, 90% of employees agree they are given valuable training that will be of benefit for the rest of their working lives.

And 82% of its workers would recommend working at the company to their friends.

'Derogatory'

McDonald's is now inviting its customers to sign petition books in its stores, or alternatively via a new website, entitled Change The Definition.

Meanwhile, Labour MP Clive Betts is sponsoring an Early Day Motion in the Commons, which regrets the use of the derogatory phrases attached to service sector jobs.

McDonalds says it will hand the petition into the Oxford English Dictionary in the autumn.

Its campaign is further supported by British Chambers of Commerce director general David Frost, British Retail Consortium director general Kevin Hawkins and City & Guilds director general Chris Humphries.

The word McJob was first used in the US in the 1980s and was popularised by Douglas Coupland's 1991 book Generation X.

It first appeared in the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary in March 2001.

Last year McDonald's tried to improve the image of its employment opportunities with the slogan: "McProspects - over half of our executive team started in our restaurants. Not bad for a McJob."

Michelin Man Junior was not available for comment.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

When I first encountered the term "McJob" it was indeed in Douglas Coupland's novel, Generation X. At the time I thought it was spot on, and I still think it is now. Even if they take it out of the dictionary, they won't stop people using it. It's a handy term to refer to the kind of jobs you would only take in order to keep body and soul together for a few months.

They use the term themselves, acknowledging the negative connotation of it. Dictionaries are supposed to reflect common usage, not the other way around. It is perfectly proper that this term should be in the dictionary.

So what if a McDonalds job has "prospects"? You could become a manager... that doesn't mean that the job is any good. It's still a McJob, only now you're a McManager. That's why the job doesn't have prospects, it has McProspects, as even they admit.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

McJob is very accurate... if you see someone in their 30's - 40's working at a McDonalds restaurant (I use that term loosely) there is something seriously fucking wrong with them, manager or not.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Gumby

McJob is very accurate... if you see someone in their 30's - 40's working at a McDonalds restaurant (I use that term loosely) there is something seriously fucking wrong with them, manager or not.

Or they can't speak English. How do you say McJob in Spanish?

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by nuttyturnip

Or they can't speak English. How do you say McJob in Spanish?

McTrabajo

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Gumby

McJob is very accurate... if you see someone in their 30's - 40's working at a McDonalds restaurant (I use that term loosely) there is something seriously fucking wrong with them, manager or not.

You know, I knew a woman once who had married rich. She was left alone with anything she wanted, whenever she wanted it. She had so much money at her disposal, it made her bored.

Someone recommended to her that she should get a job at McDonalds - not because she needed to, but because it would "remind" her of the real world, I guess.

So she took that job.

She was 33 at the time.

Just sayin'. Old people are particularly regular employees at our local McDos

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

Just sayin'. Old people are particularly regular employees at our local McDos

I think that's more common out in the suburbs and smaller communities. I knew lots of people that worked at McDonalds and the like in my hometown during high school, but here in the city, I'm hard-pressed to find anyone who speaks English. I'm not trying to joke around or anything, it's just that you don't see high-schoolers or older folks working fast food around here.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

You know, I knew a woman once who had married rich. She was left alone with anything she wanted, whenever she wanted it. She had so much money at her disposal, it made her bored.

Someone recommended to her that she should get a job at McDonalds - not because she needed to, but because it would "remind" her of the real world, I guess.

So she took that job.

She was 33 at the time.

That poor soul. 'Soul' being a figure of speech; people like this are obviously little more than zombified husks. Euthanasia should be administered.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Prior to both my brother and myself being born, my mom was a full-time engineer. Since my dad was making enough at the time to support us, she decided to become a stay at home mom. By the time I was going to elementary school she got tired of staying at home all day, so she took up teaching quilting classes and working in a quilt store (nowadays she's back to the engineer thing).

I think a lot of people just like to have something to keep them busy instead of sitting at home idle in front of the TV all day (I can't believe the only fulfilling job that lady could find was at McDonald's, though).

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Haha, never knew this word existed. If they really want to remove the word (or change the meaning) they should work on themselves and not simply hiding the truth. Or maybe McDonalds has just earned this reputation unfairly?

Quote:

Fast-food giant McDonald's has launched a petition to get the dictionary definition of a McJob changed.

Quote:

And 82% of its workers would recommend working at the company to their friends.

Maybe they offered both these camps two for two on BigMacs?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by nuttyturnip

Or they can't speak English. How do you say McJob in Spanish?

I'ts "McJob." It's just pronounced "McYob." :3

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I was watching Headline News this morning and they actually had the term McLawsuit as a kind of joke title for the story, though I think it would accurately describe lawsuits based on peoples' stupidity. Such as suing McDonald's for making them fat or burning themselves with hot coffee.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by nazpyro

I'ts "McJob." It's just pronounced "McYob." :3

The hilarious part is that it's true. Sometimes I ask for shit like Gatorade (and pronounce it correctly when I do) and they look at me blank faced. O:O Like that. Then they're like OH; GAY-TORE,

I was speaking idiomatically.

Heh, for some reason I find this story rather whimsical and frivolous. Maybe it's because it's McDonald's? Who knows. I hope they don't succeed in their crusade; the meaning of the word is so true it hurts.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

Just sayin'. Old people are particularly regular employees at our local McDos

Well that's hardly unusual, but anybody over 30 working at Mickey D's is there generally because they have chosen to die in a trailer park. Nobody with any real life prospects chooses to work at McDonald's.

Your lack of proximity to the Mexican border probably contributes as well. Without steady access to the hispanic underclass, the workers gotta come from somewhere.

FELIPE NO

Up until now I've never heard of the term McJob. However, I do know a few peope who have a McJob at the golden arches. Only one of them actually made it to manager. The rest stayed as burger flippers. They got shitty hours, got threats of being fired whenever they needed to book time off or take a sick day. It was just an unpleasant job.

How ya doing, buddy?

Whenever McDonald's makes the job desirable and worthwhile, then the definition can be changed.

Jam it back in, in the dark.