Editorial: Take it all in context with toys

HAPPY PLACE: A mother has complained about the apparent foul-mouthed toys handed out at McDonald's with Happy Meals. Photograph by Duncan Brown.

All talk is of the apparent potty-mouthed talking toys handed out with McDonald's Happy Meals.

Parents are furrowing brows, alleging the cute characters from the Minions film utter nasty words including, but not restricted to, the almighty F-bomb.

Two lines have been inferred as offensive: "What the f***?" And: "I'll be damned".

In response, both the manufacturers and McDonald's swear their promotional tie-ins aren't swearing; they are in fact speaking "Minionese".

Nonetheless, a local mother contacted us saying her young child, with McDonald's Minion in hand, was now running around home uttering said F-bomb at every juncture.

Since the scandal broke, I've had the toy on my desk. From what I can hear, the allegation is a little tenuous. Still, given the advent of texting, where abbreviation at the expense of grammar is increasingly accepted, it's easy to see how kids have read a little more into the lines than was intended.

Truth is, it would be tough for kids to connect the dots and recognise the foul language if they hadn't already heard such lines in the schoolyard.

And as I tell my sons, swearing is all about context. When fishing with dad, things tend to loosen up; at dinner or social occasions, watch your flanks. As a former lecturer once taught: "What you read, reads you." McDonald's, it seems, is copping flak for what kids are reading into what they've heard.

Besides, something's been gained in translation from Minionese.

These plastic characters are fearlessly toying with taboo, reminding us of swearing's deep roots in our linguistic and cultural heritage.

Thus, McDonald's is to be congratulated for sparking intellectual debate and furnishing the nutritious Happy Meal with an educational aide.