LAS VEGAS (AP) — A voter wouldn't hug a policy, call a political party a festivity or say a politician lacks a "thorn." But those are some of the messages Nevada's Spanish-speaking voters have received this election cycle due to problematic translations on candidates' websites, news releases and ads.
The errors can be confusing and even elicit chuckles, but language and culture experts say they can also have serious political implications.
Dolores Inés Casillas is an associate professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She says the mistakes give Latinos "yet another reason to be disengaged from political life."
The translation issues have included the use of the word "fiesta" for "party" in the context of a political party.
Twenty-nine percent of people in Nevada are Latino, and getting their votes can make a big difference in the swing state.
