Lost in Translation: Sticky Mitt and Barbarian Mud No Mind of His Own

Former Massachusetts governor and presidential aspirant Mitt Romney's name translated in Chinese might mean "Sticky Rice." State Secretary William Galvin says the federal guv'mint wants the names of presidential candidates to be printed in Chinese characters on ballots in areas where the primary language is Chinese. That sounds like such a good idea that it probably should have been done a long time ago.

But translating an American name into Chinese characters isn't exactly easy and often winds up with some unintentionally hilarious results. You've probably received the chain e-mail featuring garbled lines from Hong Kong action movies, such as "Don't do anything perverted - we are in a hurry" and "A normal person wouldn't steal pituitaries."

So Romney was probably lucky that he got "Sticky Rice."

Mayor Menino wasn't as lucky. His name doesn't come out so well when translated:

But perhaps the most perplexing translation would be for Boston Mayor Thomas Menino's name, which could be read as "Sun Moon Rainbow Farmer" or "Imbecile," or "Barbarian Mud No Mind of His Own."

We wouldn't use the word "perplexing" to describe that series of nicknames. The words "deeply embarrassing" would be more appropriate. Bet that went over real well with Mayor Menino!

So it's no surprise that Galvin wants the ballots translated – as long as the names stay the same.

Image of sticky rice from wikipedia.