Fun With Ethnocentrism!

Ah, the tricky problem of dealing with many languages… no wonder the Republicans want an “English Only” ballot:

Candidates Names are Tough in Chinese

Mitt Romney's been called many things as he runs for president, but chances are "Sticky Rice" isn't one of them.

That's how his name might be read on some ballots, according to state Secretary William Galvin.

Galvin says the federal Justice Department is pressuring Boston election officials to translate candidates' names into Chinese characters in precincts with prominent Chinese-speaking populations.

But there's more than a little lost in translation, according to Galvin.

Since there's no Chinese character for "Romney," translators have resorted to finding characters that most closely match the sound of each syllable in the name.

Do you think that Mitt Romney has any idea that “Sticky Rice” is slang for gay Asian males that are attracted to other Asian males?

You know, I bet he doesn’t.

Anyway, he got off easier than this guy:

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."

Can we just use the Chinese characters for “Imbecile” for all of the Republican candidates? I mean, it’s not like we have to differentiate between them; they’re all Bush Lite. Think of all the money we could save on ballots! Sounds like a sound conservative solution to me.