The semiologist 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 an era – and its relationship to work.
You devote the beginning of your work to “deconstructing” an untruth: the word work does not originate 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, as a result, we often rely on it to denounce dysfunctions within organizations. However, it is false.
We must return to Littré. In the 19th century, the lexicographer challenged this etymology. He prefers the small term “trabs” as a stem of the word work via “trabe”, “trave”, “tref”… This refers us to the branch of the tree, therefore to wood, a raw material extensively worked in Antiquity . The instruments of work and, finally, the work – the effort put into building the frames, the roofs, then, by extension, any act of production, were gradually associated with it, by mental mechanism.
You explain that “the etymology of “work” (…) commonly given by “tripalium” constitutes (…) a precious archaeological piece”. For what ?
Beyond the search for truth – is this etymology true or false? –, semiology allows us to understand the journey of a word. Tripalium is attested in the 6th century. It is worn by the fathers of the Church. Accessing paradise is then perceived as a heavy, difficult journey. You have to work hard to earn your place there. The idea that work makes man suffer is thus accredited. An idea which will also be supported by Marxism, which believes that this same work alienates man.
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Beyond this journey, semiology also gives us the possibility of observing our time and understanding how our contemporaries speak. And the reference to tripalium obviously tells us something about our times. It sheds light on how we look at this world of work, which today is plagued by significant problems (burn-out, poor work organization, etc.).
You explain throughout your work that semiology can also allow us to renew our view of work…
She invites us, in fact, not to reduce our view of work to doxa and the 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 from the doloristic vision that underlies it and to note that at other times in our history the view of it was much more positive.
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