Huffington Post: "Campaign Slogans Translated: "Maverick" Is "Dog Without A Leash" In Italian"

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Campaign Slogans Translated: "Maverick" Is "Dog Without A Leash" In Italian



by Rima Abdelkader at NYCity News Service

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nycity-news-service/foreign-journalist-transl_b_136155.html

Joe Sixpack. Hockey Mom. Maverick.

Even for those passionately following the presidential election, the definition of these campaign buzzwords can change with the voter, pundit or reporter who interprets them.

Imagine, then, how foreign language journalists must struggle to put the terms into context for their audiences when such words often have no direct translation.

That problem faced Al Jazeera reporter Abderrahim Foukara when he wrestled with how to describe "maverick.'' The world's most watched Arab network finally decided to define the American colloquialism as "a bird that sings outside the flock."

A Sixpack By Any Other Name...

It is relatively simple to interpret Senator Barack Obama's major theme of change - but not so for the phrases most associated with Senator John McCain and his running mate, Governor Sarah Palin.

For Al Jazeera, and foreign-language media throughout the world, the issue of how to translate the language of American politics is more than just a matter of journalistic accuracy. Their decisions reflect their own diverse histories and cultures, as well as their ethical guidelines about bias in translation.

Palin routinely tells her audience she represents Joe Sixpack - shorthand for the everyday American man or woman who perhaps enjoys an occasional beer after work.

At least one French journalist defines the term much less generously - and in a more politically charged manner. Le Monde U.N. Bureau Chief Jean Louis Turlin translates Joe Sixpack using a French cartoon character, Beauf.

"Le beauf' plein de bière," said Turlin, is an "uneducated, extremely conservative brother-in-law" who is "narrow-minded as well as racist."