Posted by Eugene Volokh:
Volokh Commenters Get Noticed:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2007_09_09-2007_09_15.shtml#1189712188
Someone at the [1]Atlanta Journal-Constitution liked our [2]"mentee"
thread -- and [3]quoted a substantial chunk, all from the commenters:
he verbal warfare broke out late last month on "The Volokh
Conspiracy," a blog run by UCLA law Professor Eugene Volokh. The
squabble began during a discussion of misspellings, when one poster
took off on the word "mentee."
I find "mentee" [said he] so offensive that I disparage its usage
at every opportunity. While I will reluctantly overlook the use of
"mentor" as a verb (that battle is lost), I refuse to acknowledge
the existence of the verb "to ment" that "mentee" necessarily
implies. Resumes containing this word require no further review. I
reserve such vitriol and summary dismissal for this error alone.
This is because it is what might be called a Homeric error. And I
don't mean Homer Simpson.
Yankev's post: What else do you call the subject of a mentor?
I still vote for protege.
Mentee sounds too much like the endangered sea cows that inhabit
Florida's coastal waters.
Was that your mentee I saw you with at lunch?
No, that's not the person I ment.
Uggh. Mentee may be a word, but so is puke.
Ex parte McCardle's post: How about "lickspittle," a great old word
which has fallen into unwarranted desuetude?
AK: I might recognize "mentee" as a word, but I will never
recognize "Mentos" as a food.
James Fulford: What else do you call the subject of a mentor?
Telemachus?
Tim Dowling: My recollection is that during the Bush I
Administration, EPA's chief of staff issue a memo banning the use
of the word "proactive" because, in his words, "it's not a word."
Evidently, he didn't like it, word-wise speaking. By the way,
mentoring has its own month, January. IT'S THE LAW. Go forth and
ment.
NaG: I propose that "the" is not a word. It means nothing. There is
nothing about "the" that adds meaning to a subsequent word. "The
pig" has no different meaning than simply "pig"; "the" can simply
be inferred from the noun itself.
BobH: Eliminate article!!
JohnEMack: Would other passive forms be better? How about "mentess"
for female epigones? Or "mented," which permits us to call former
students "demented."
Good work, folks!
References
1.
http://www.ajc.com/search/content/opinion/stories/2007/09/02/mentee09021.html
2. http://www.volokh.com/posts/chain_1187887242.shtml
3.
http://www.ajc.com/search/content/opinion/stories/2007/09/02/mentee09021.html
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