Hope Chu of the Organization of Chinese Americans says hers is a tonal language in which a sound has many meanings. Take the “ma” in Barack Obama. It can mean “horse,” “mother,” “how,” “what” or “to scold.” And while Obama comes out as “Oh Bus Horse” in Cantonese, in the Mandarin dialect the Democrat’s full name, according to a translation provided by Galvin, means “Oh Intellectual Overcome Profound Oh Gemstone.” Or, says Siri Karm Singh Khalsa, president of The Boston Language Institute, “Europe Pulling a Horse.”
If Obama’s alias appears inscrutable, Clinton’s sends an unpleasant message: “Upset Stomach.” Phil Singer, spokesman for Clinton’s campaign, says Chinese-American campaign workers told him that the characters usually used in Chinese-American media for her name mean “Like Prosperity.”
Not all translations are distasteful. Neither Thompson weighing a bid for the Republican presidential nomination is likely to get hot or sour over his Chinese name. In Mandarin, Fred Thompson’s name could mean “Fortune Virtue Soup.” In Cantonese, Tommy Thompson is “Beautiful Soup.”
