In the English version, the exchange was:
IRATE VENDOR: Oh, so this melon is bad, is it?
HUFFY CUSTOMER: Rawther, old fruit!
And of course, Odius Asparagus.
Seems like at least some of English pun names were better than the original French, as best I can tell. The Druid’s French name is Panoramix. What does that mean? Is there a pun there? In English, it’s Getafix.
The bard’s French name is Assurancetourix which I’m told means Traveler’s Insurance. In English, his name is Cacofonix.
… And the blacksmith/armorer’s name is Fulliautomatix, and the fishmonger’s name is Unhygenix.
The leader of the Caledonians (Scots) was MacAnix, and that of the Hibernians (Irish) was O’veroptimistix.
The chief of Asterix’s tribe is Vitalstatistix, supposedly a comment on his ample proportions. I actually prefer his German name: Majestix. His wife’s name is Impedimenta.
Here’s a long list of chaarcters’ names in multiple languages:
I think there were cases where G&U devoted an entire page to setting up some elaborate pun, and if it didn’t translate well into English, the translators re-wrote the entire page of dialog because none of it would have made any sense. ISTR there was a whole page like this in Asterix The Gladiator.
OTOH, the entire first two pages of Asterix In Switzerland is devoted to setting up an elaborate pun – in English! I have to assume that the same must have somehow worked in the original French, or else they could never have written and drawn what they did. Full text and art, in English.
Panoramix is a pun on Panoramic, probably because he has a larger view of the world than a lot of his fellow gauls.
Assurancetourix, is not really Traveler’s insurance but rather complete coverage insurance (literally Insurance all risks) like you would get for a car.
The chief’s wife is called Bonemine (bonne mine), which means someone who is always up beat or with a sunny disposition, which of course is the complete opposite of her character.
But back to Uderzo, one interesting thing that I did not realize about him was that he was color blind and made sure to clearly label his paint and pencil colors. He also did the illustrations for Les Aventures de Tanguy et Laverdure, which was made into two animated tv series and inspired a live action movie .
//i\
I never liked translating the Druid’s name as “Getafix”. It makes him sound like a drug pusher – and not the kind that makes strength potions.
I understand re-naming the dog “Dogmatix”, but they really could have kept it as “Ideefix”
That said, really do like the Roman names (and names for the Roman camps) they come up with.
And I think the Egyptian in Asterix the Legionary – “Ptenisnet”, represented in his speech fumetti as a drawing of a Tennis Net – is priceless. Does anyone know what the name (and joke) in the French original was?
In French it is Tennis Court (Courdeténis) so very similar
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Anthea Bell was briefly mentioned upstream. She was the one who translated Asterix into English, and created a whole new range of puns and wordplay for it.
She also died, about 18 month ago. An obituary of her wide-ranging work as a translator is here.
Guitar builders are luthiers alright. Bowed string instruments isn’t a qualifier.
Asterix comics are a cherished part of my early years. Goscinny died impossibly early, but the death of Uderzo marks the end of an era to me.
This is a good example of what it means to be a translator. They don’t just take words from one language and put them into another. Anyone with a bilingual dictionary could do that, and the result wouldn’t be a translation.
Translators need not only a native or near-native knowledge of the original language (which, unless you’re lucky enought to be born into a multi-lingual family, takes years to acquire). They also have to write well in their own language in a variety of styles and registers, and they require a broad knowledge of other cultures and disciplines.
I’ve been at it professionally for almost 40 years now, and I never stop learning. Languages change over time, and I have to keep up with them.
“Comprehensive auto insurance.”
So in German, they could have named the bard Vollkaskoix, but they went for the somewhat lame Troubadix. But I like Verleihnix, the fishmonger.
… And the crotchety old village elder is Geriatrix. 
Another good name in the German translation, in “Asterix and the Normans,” was Grautvornix, Justforkix (which was also very clever) in English, the young Norman who wanted to learn what fear is, because Grautvornix means “Isn’t afraid of anything”.
In German, Methusalix. Somehow the Gauls of that time must’ve picked up some of the old testament ;).
So many great books, although the later ones did not capture their original brilliance. May both G and U spend eternity in The Mansions of the Gods. 
I loved those books when I was a kid, any time I stumbled upon a Tintin or Asterix and Obelix book in the library was a good day.
Does anyone here know Goscinny’s Le petit Nicolas? My daughter read the books in French when she was in primary school. I remember them as being very clever and funny.
Tintin was actually by Hergé. But some Oumpah-Pah and Lucky Luke and other Goscinny creations appeared in Tintin magazine.
Sure, I know them, and I read them, they are not very obscure, just haven’t cracked them open in a while. Basically they are children’s books featuring schoolchildren.