Lost in Translation or Chinese Food for Thought?

June 28, 2007 — -- "Virtue Soup" or "Sticky Rice"?

Your preference may depend on your politics.

A ballot issue in the city of Boston has pinned the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division against the Massachusetts secretary of state's office -- and the controversy may end up in court.

Under a 2005 agreement with the Justice Department, Massachusetts agreed to make ballots translated from English into Cantonese and Mandarin available to Boston's Chinese voters.

While some critics balked at the idea of offering ballots in any language except English, Massachusetts -- like New York and California -- complied. Or so it thought.

Now the federal government is pressuring the Bay State to not only transliterate -- to write in the characters of another alphabet -- the contents of the ballot, such as instructions and offices, but also the surnames of candidates.

With the 2008 presidential election approaching, state election officials took a look at how some of the big political names, transliterated from English to Chinese, might appear in character form.

For some, the translation, which must be done syllable by syllable, painted a better picture than others.

On the Republican side, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's name, for example, might translate to "Sticky Rice" on the ballot. If former senator and "Law and Order" star Fred Thompson officially hops into the GOP race, Chinese voters could have the option of voting for "Virtue Soup."

Of course, the soup and rice would face a challenges from "Triumphant Wheat," aka Arizona Sen. John McCain, and Rudy Guiliani, the former New York City mayor, whose Chinese translation might be read as "Peaceful Nun."

On the Democratic side of the aisle, N.Y. Sen. Hillary Clinton may not be happy to see her name translated into "Tired Forest," while Illinois Sen. Barack Obama might be read, to his satisfaction, as "Profound Horse."

Brian McNiff, a spokesman for Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin, said the issue goes beyond the big names of the presidential campaign. Many of Boston's Chinese voters, he said, may likely recognize those candidates. But throw in city councilor and state representative candidates and other more obscure potential officeholders and the confusion only mounts.

"And then you have this added factor of good and bad characters," said McNiff, pointing out the somewhat favorable transliterations enjoyed by some candidates and unseemly Chinese ballot titles others may grumble about.

But the Justice Department continues to pressure Massachusetts election officials, arguing that the inclusion of Chinese surnames on the ballot not only would comply with the consent agreement, but that the inclusion would better preserve democracy than forcing confused voters to rely on poll monitors.

"We'll attempt to seek an amicable settlement whenever possible," Cynthia Magnuson, Justice Department Civil Rights Division spokeswoman, told ABC News, adding that Boston city officials have agreed with them and that it's the state leaders who are failing to meet the terms of the agreement.

McNiff said the differences of opinion may ultimately end up in court, a lawsuit that Magnuson said is not ideal, but could potentially happen if necessary.

Sam Yoon, a Korean-born Boston city councilor, said he understands the amusement the controversy has generated for some. But he's also heard from angry constituents and is working with Asian-American and advocacy groups to respond officially to the secretary of state's office.

"It's kind of bewilderment," Yoon said in an interview with ABC News. "Bewilderment at [Galvin's] failure to understand a system of transliteration that over a billion people use and rely on, to pronounce words that aren't Chinese."

Voters who take Chinese ballots won't mistake Mitt Romney for "Sticky Rice," Yoon said, describing the notion that Chinese-American voters would be that clueless in the voting booth as "condescending."

Yoon said that Chinese surnames on ballots work in other cities and suggested that photos next to each candidate's name would also clear up any confusion. Like Magnuson, he'd prefer that voters be able to make their own decisions -- without any unnecessary outside influence.

"Anything we can do to foster independence and self-sufficiency in the polling booth," he said.