Nice dictionary you got there — be a shame if somethin’ were to happen to it

McDonald’s has a problem with the Oxford English Dictionary.

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.”

And McD’s is more than welcome to change the public perception of the company, its jobs, and thus the word — by convincing the public otherwise.  But dictionaries are, as has been noted countless times, descriptive, not prescriptive — they define words (and pronunciations) as they are used, not as they “should” be — even if one accepts McDonald’s claim.

I’m lovin’ it. 

(via BoingBoing)