# Translating the language of comics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-strips\ **Created:** [March 28, 2022, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864 "2022-03-28T23:34:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2022, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864/81 "2022-03-30T23:34:47Z")
I saw a Chinese crossword puzzle in Games Magazine once. But I think it was created by the Games editors, not “native”, as it were. The “words” in the puzzle were instead sentences, intersecting at characters, rather than letters. And it was a sparse-style crossword, like the ones you see on the side of a Happy Meals box, not a dense crossword like you find in the New York Times. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2022, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864/82 "2022-03-31T01:11:13Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > As for the other guys, though, is Haddock even Belgian? It is revealed that his ancestor worked for Louis XIV, though that does not necessarily prove he is French. And there’s a crucial moment in “Red Rackham’s Treasure” where Tintin realizes they’ve been looking for the title treasure in the wrong place - because Haddock’s ancestor, being French, would have measured from the Paris Meridian instead of the Greenwich Meridian. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2022, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864/83 "2022-03-31T03:01:21Z")
I actually wonder if they could do a Chinese crossword using the pinyin that is used to type it out. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2022, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864/84 "2022-03-31T03:39:54Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I actually wonder if they could do a Chinese crossword using the pinyin that is used to type it out. I wonder if there are other kinds of popular word puzzles that are well-suited for the Chinese style of pictograph writing, but unworkable in languages with alphabetic writing. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2022, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864/85 "2022-03-31T09:10:39Z")
Here’s a Chinese crossword [![](https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~wwu/YaBBAttachments/crossword-chinese-01.gif) ](https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~wwu/YaBBAttachments/crossword-chinese-01.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2022, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864/86 "2022-03-31T09:29:30Z")
FWIW, the detectives Dupond/t were called Schultze and Schulze in German and Hernández y Fernández in Spanish. Tintin et Milou were also translated: Tintín y Milú in Spanish, Tim und Struppi in German. But still I believe I knew it was set in Brussels, Belgium. All the Asterix’ names except Asterix, Obelix and Idefix were translated in all the versions I know. That did not make it any less Gaulish (? Is that the gentilic of Gaul?), just more readable and funnier. Hercule Poirot, on the other hand, made a point in the books themselves of being annoyed at being confused for a French and his name was never changed or adapted, AFAIK. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2022, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864/87 "2022-03-31T10:15:40Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > FWIW, the detectives Dupond/t were called Schultze and Schulze in German and Hernández y Fernández in Spanish. IOW, translating/emphasizing that their names are pronounced the same. Which is cool. Though if you type their name into the [Tintin wiki](https://tintin.fandom.com/wiki/Thompson_and_Thomson) it claims they have worked for Scotland Yard(???) ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2022, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864/88 "2022-03-31T10:21:25Z")
Are there clues to this? This seems to be looking for phrases or sentences that have intersecting words. Not words that have intersecting letters (obv. Chinese does not have letters). ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2022, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864/89 "2022-03-31T11:15:57Z")
No clues that I have; I was able to find it using keyword search and image search. One built-in clue is that some numbers repeat, so some characters should be recycled. To fill it in, one probably needs a decent knowledge of Chinese phrases and chengyu so I cannot really help 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2022, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864/90 "2022-03-31T11:59:37Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > All the Asterix’ names except Asterix, Obelix and Idefix were translated in all the versions I know. Idefix is Dogmatix in English, to preserve the pun (or improve it, IMO), but the other two are the same. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2022, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864/91 "2022-03-31T16:47:54Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Idefix is Dogmatix in English, to preserve the pun (or improve it, IMO), but the other two are the same. I’m not happy with many of the changes. Ideefix would’ve been fine to keep the way it was, but I can understand the change to Dogmatix. The one that really bothers me is the Druid Panoramix. the original is a perfectly fine name, and they should have kept it. Changing it to “Getafix” makes him sound like a drug pusher. (and no cracks about “but that’s what he is”. He has never, to my knowledge, prescribed hallucinogens or addictive substances) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2022, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864/92 "2022-03-31T17:00:38Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Changing it to “Getafix” makes him sound like a drug pusher. Not, I suspect, to the two English people who translated it. Pretty sure they just had the “get fixed up” idea, given their backgrounds. In any case, I’ve never had a problem with it. _Panoramix_ is fine, but it’s generic in a way _Getafix_ isn’t. I feel the same way about _Cacafonix_ vs _Assurancetourix_ ETA - I’m sure I recall one where a potion of his did have a hallucinogenic effect, but can’t think of the title. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2022, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864/93 "2022-03-31T17:29:02Z")
Well… apart from Asterix and the Big Fight, I suppose: [![](https://www.asterix.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/alb7-1-400x415.jpg) ](https://www.asterix.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/alb7-1-400x415.jpg) [![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T9OGeJ5MOnA/WVTD9n5kyxI/AAAAAAAETmM/zw7X5r0Rdnob_liZe6i5oDiU_Ajoq11iQCLcBGAs/s1600/007_025.jpg) ](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T9OGeJ5MOnA/WVTD9n5kyxI/AAAAAAAETmM/zw7X5r0Rdnob_liZe6i5oDiU_Ajoq11iQCLcBGAs/s1600/007_025.jpg) [![](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ea/86/70/ea867039f089184785b31abeb2325bd7--chefs.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ea/86/70/ea867039f089184785b31abeb2325bd7--chefs.jpg) [![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f2xfcFxJAkU/WVTEAXxQA_I/AAAAAAAETnI/99x_NmHCFRc8x_C74PCMUJO5a0lsdle2ACLcBGAs/s1600/007_040.jpg) ](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f2xfcFxJAkU/WVTEAXxQA_I/AAAAAAAETnI/99x_NmHCFRc8x_C74PCMUJO5a0lsdle2ACLcBGAs/s1600/007_040.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2022, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864/94 "2022-03-31T17:58:31Z")
More translation problems ! It’s not “Asterix and the Big Fight”, it’s [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/fr/c/c7/Le_Combat_des_chefs_-_logo.png) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/fr/c/c7/Le_Combat_des_chefs_-_logo.png) in fact, Asterix is not mentioned at all. And they omitted the _ **Chefs** _. They couldn’t even get the title right? reminds me of the time I saw (in France) a film called _Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain_. Sounds cool, right? Decades later (maybe one decade and change?), someone mentioned a movie “Amélie”. Eventually, I figured out what they were talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2022, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864/95 "2022-04-01T19:11:37Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > All the Asterix’ names except Asterix, Obelix and Idefix were translated in all the versions I know. That did not make it any less Gaulish (? Is that the gentilic of Gaul?), just more readable and funnier. Yes, as already noted, Idefix is Dogmatix in English. The Gaulish village is never given a name, but in English it is always called simply the “Gaulish village”. So I guess “Gaulish” is the right word. What does Panoramix mean in French? Is there any particular pun there? I’ve been told that “Assurancetourix” means “Travelers Insurance”. His English name, “Cacofonix” seems much more descriptive. I’ve been told that “Abraracourcix” means “short arms”. His English name is “Vitalstatistix”. Names of other nationalities have distinctive forms or endings that attempt to portray that nationality. I’m not sure how those get translated in other languages, or if they do at all. We all know that the Roman names all end in “-us” (except Caesar), and the English versions tend to be English puns. So I guess those are getting translated. They have names like “Crismus Bonus”, “Odius Asparagus”, “Caligula Minus”, etc. The Egyptian architects in _Asterix and Cleopatra_ in English are Edifis and Artifis. In one scene, the ramshackle home of Edifis is shown, with his name in large Greek letters above the door. [This site suggests](https://asterix.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Asterix_characters) that his French name is _Numérobis_. That implies that the translators also dubbed his English (in Greek letters) name into the drawing of his house. The site linked just above lists all the major characters and many other minor characters, including showing their names in many of the other languages. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2022, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864/96 "2022-04-01T19:20:43Z")
I’ve been straightening and reorganizing books and just found again my copy of _Asterix and the Secret Weapon._ I don’t read French, so I don’t know what the title originally may have been, or how the many hilarious puns were created though. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2022, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864/97 "2022-04-01T19:21:44Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > The Gaulish village is never given a name, but in English it is always called simply the “Gaulish village”. So I guess “Gaulish” is the right word. It was ages before I realized “Totorum” is not pronounced “ta-TOR-um.” **DUH!** 🥺 ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2022, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864/98 "2022-04-01T19:29:52Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > It was ages before I realized “Totorum” is not pronounced “ta-TOR-um.” Okay, I just googled this (so you don’t have to do it for me 🙂 ) to understand what you’re talking about. In the process, I stumbled across this Wikipedia page, relevant for this thread: > **[English translations of Asterix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_translations_of_Asterix)** > > All the Asterix stories, created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, have been translated into English. The vast majority of the albums were translated by Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge. Their first volume, Asterix the Gaul, was published by Brockhampton Press in 1969. Bell retired in 2016 due to ill health and died in 2018; Hockridge died in 2013. Adriana Hunter currently serves as translator, with Asterix and the Chariot Race being her debut. > In the Asterix stories, many of the original Frenc... This page discusses, briefly, the translations of names and the puns. It includes a section called “Lost in Translation” that gives some examples of jokes and puns that had to be adjusted in the translation, including some that they called “unsalvageable” – the example they give is the “melon” example from \*Asterix in Britain", already cited up-thread. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2022, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864/99 "2022-04-01T19:41:24Z")
I seem to remember that the British expression “Old boy” was translated as “Alter Knabbe” in the German edition of _ **Asterix in Britain** _. A Swedish girl I once knew thought this was hilarious and told me “You just can’t _say_ that in German!” ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2022, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864/100 "2022-04-01T19:44:01Z")
The Wikipedia page I linked just above has this interesting remark in the “Lost in Translation” section, regarding _Asterix in Britain_: > [@](#): > > In the same album, much of the humor came from Goscinny’s high-fidelity rendition of the English language _using French words_ . This, of course, is totally lost by re-translation into English, but compensated for by making the British characters speak in an antiquated, early-twentieth-century style. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translating-the-language-of-comics/961864.md?page=6)