Translate a political flier to Chinese?

January 9, 2008 10:46 PM

Could you help me reach out to the predominantly Chinese elderly voters in my neighborhood?

I'm spending the weeks before Super Dooper Tuesday talking to my friends and neighbors about a candidate I believe in strongly, Dr. Ron Paul.

However, I live in a strongly Chinese immigrant neighborhood. Many of the older voters speak only a few words of English, and I don't speak a syllable of Chinese. Though they happily take the brochures I printed up in English, its pretty obvious they struggle understanding what is said. I would really like to reach out to them by providing them a flier in Chinese which would give them an opportunity to evaluate the candidate and decide whether they like him.

Unfortunately, I can't find anyone in the Ron Paul forums or the local MeetUp groups who speaks Chinese. Would you help me me with how to say the following in Chinese- or even Korean?

"Dr. Ron Paul is a candidate for the republican nomination for President of the United States. Dr. Paul supports lower taxes and an immediate end to the war in Iraq. In ten terms in the US Congress, he has never voted to raise taxes. Please consider voting for Dr. Paul during the California primary on February 5, 2008.

If you have any questions about Dr. Paul, if you haven't yet registered to vote, or if you need help finding to or getting to the polling station, we live a few blocks away on _____ road and would be happy to help. Please call us at ________. My name is _____."

If you're not in to Ron Paul, that's fine - but please, no flaming.

Thanks!

posted by stewiethegreat to Grab Bag (3 answers total)

Just post on Craigslist and offer to pay someone to write your brochure in Mandarin. Then pass those out. Try not to mention anything about Ron Paul's position on Social Security and other govt benefits for the elderly. They dig that stuff.
posted by Kimpossible at 11:16 PM on January 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

You need a native speaker of Chinese who has excellent English and the skill to convey the candidate's political message effectively in Chinese. These people are known as translators and the service is usually commercial - but if you can find a translator who is also committed to your cause, you may be able to get it done for free. Try your local yellow pages or www.proz.com.

Disclaimer - I'm a translator, but know no Chinese.
posted by altolinguistic at 4:35 AM on January 10, 2008

Ideally do get a translator who supports Ron Paul or you might end up with something like "Look at me! I'm handing these flyers out to get support for Ron Paul, but the truth is that he'd screw you over something fierce" or "Oh hi! I am being held hostage in a fortune cookie factory! I actually hate old Chinese people! Vote Ron Paul!"

(seriously. call me cynical)
posted by Stewriffic at 5:27 AM on January 10, 2008