The semiotician Mariette Darrigrand shows, in The Tripalium workshop. No, work does not come from torture! (Ecuador, 224 pages, 19 euros), that the choice of words is a gateway to better understanding a time… and its relationship with work.
You dedicate the beginning of your work to “deconstruct” a falsehood: the word work does not come from “tripalium”, which designated an instrument of torture in Antiquity and the Middle Ages…
Mariette Darrigrand: I noticed that many management books highlighted this etymology. It permeates the world of work and, therefore, we often rely on it to denounce dysfunctions within organizations. However, it is false.
We must return to Littré. In the 19th centurymy century, the lexicographer questioned this etymology. He prefers the small term “trabs” as the root of the word work via “trabe”, “trave”, “tref”… This refers us to the branch of the tree, therefore to wood, a raw material widely worked in Antiquity. The instruments of work and, finally, the work – the effort put into building the structures, the roofs and then, by extension, any act of production – were gradually associated with it, by a mental mechanism.
He explains that “the etymology of “work” (…) commonly given by “tripalium” constitutes (…) a precious archaeological piece.” So that ?
Beyond the search for truth, is this etymology true or false? –, semiology allows us to understand the journey of a word. tripallium is attested in VImy century. It is used by the fathers of the Church. Accessing paradise is then perceived as a heavy and difficult journey. You have to work hard to earn your place. The idea that work makes man suffer is thus proven. An idea that will also be supported by Marxism, which believes that this same work alienates man.
Beyond this journey, semiology also gives us the possibility of observing our time and understanding how our contemporaries speak. And the reference to tripallium It obviously tells us something about our times. It sheds light on how we see this world of work, which today is plagued by major problems (burnout, poor work organization, etc.).
You explain throughout your work that semiology can also allow us to renew our vision of work…
In fact, it invites us not to reduce our vision of work to doxa and dominant language. It thus invites us to open our focus and discover different representations and meanings. Because, in fact, there are many other imaginations around work. By exploring the semantic ecosystem it is possible to escape the painful vision that underlies it and verify that at other times in our history the vision of it was much more positive.
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