Tormentee

The association where I work has just published a book for those who wish to be “mentors” in science education. That’s all well and good. The problem is that the persons at the receiving end of this guidance are called “mentees.” This is so grating to my eyes and ears that I came here to vent a bit. I find it barbaric, frankly. When you honor someone, that person is an honoree. If you’re nominated for something, you’re a nominee. There is no verb “to ment.” Nor is there a verb “to mentate.” You don’t get mentated. Someone isn’t mented. Demented, yes. Mented, no.

The idea of “mentoring” came, of course, from the mythic Greek figure Mentor. I grew up in a town called Mentor, so I suppose I have a personal interest in this matter. But even if I didn’t, I’d be nauseated by the back-formation mentee. Mentoree is awkward, but it’s English. Mentee is … crap. (I think James A. Garfield, scholar and president, pride of Mentor, would have agreed.)

Months before this book went into production, I was tangentially involved in a website devoted to so-called e-mentoring. The education professionals behind this were talking about mentors and mentees, and I tried to get them to accept an alternative: the mentored, or mentorees, or beginners, or simply new teachers.* I would have loved to have them introduce the term tyro, because a mentor–tyro relationship is exactly what they’re talking about, but that was hoping for too much. I lost. And, I fear, the English language has lost. Mentee is worse than crap. It is poison. It teaches you that you can do whatever you want to English and no one will care.

“Oh, but there’s a logic to it,” someone will say. Of course there’s a logic to it! It was coined by “science types.” It’s not a matter of logic. The lunatic asylums are full of impeccable logic. It’s a matter of history. It has to do with remembering where things came from and where we came from. Some of the smartest people I work with don’t care much for history—don’t care much about history. They are obsessed with novelty, and so with neologisms. Just like the rankest marketer. Sad, but true. I hope you’re accustomed to being a marketee by now.

To help me keep my sanity when I’m at the office, I hereby resolve to refer to recipients of sage guidance as manatees.

Manatees being mentored at the bottom of the ocean.

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*Or how about “protege”? Today (2007.09.15) I discovered a thread at the Volokh Conspiracy, predating mine by a fortnight or so, that revolved around using this word in pairings with “mentor” (as a viable, at-hand alternative to “mentee”).