Gauling for the Romans (and for the British) (Asterix Comics in general)

Name: grahamt

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Product:	Asterix Comics in general
Date:	13/09/07 (140 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hugely enjoyable and entertaining stories in any language

Disadvantages: None that I can think of!

Over 40 years ago my parents, keen to help me do well in my French "O" Level (that shows you just how long ago this was) arranged for me to have an exchange with the son of a French family. Arranged by Amitie International des Jeunes, an organisation that I believe no longer exists (It looks like the nearest equivalent today is probably "Le Club International des Jeunes à Paris"), I travelled alone to Paris to spend a "holiday" with a lovely family, of whom only the son spoke any English. This was pretty daunting for one as young as I was then, so daunting in fact that I spent the entire first evening after my arrival, completely tongue-tied. I got more and more frustrated with myself and spent almost the entire night, lying in bed, rehearsing over and over again my opening phrase for the following day.

Three weeks later I returned to England pretty well fluent in French, at least as far as the essentials were concerned; not surprising since for three weeks solid I had spoken nothing but French. This I attribute to the endless patience of my new French friends, a friendship I have maintained to the current day. I returned year after year to refresh my French and indulge my abiding love of France, its culture and the French people in general. I should also credit their son's love of the Asterix comic books (or should we call them graphic novels now?) for helping me to come to grips with the French language. Jean-Claude had all then published and I devoured them in every spare moment. It gave me an opportunity to ask (in French of course) for an explanation of some of the jokes I just didn't get.

And that's the problem. These books exploit mercilessly the intricacies of the French language, using puns and in-jokes that were lost on me until the joke was explained. Immediately I saw that the way that the Asterix books played with the French language was entirely similar to the we that we do so in English. The pun is as alive and well in French as it is in English.

By the time I returned to England I had read everything he had and so started to look out for English versions of the same books, since I was curious to see how they would translate. I simply couldn't see how some of the jokes could possibly work in English. Let me give you an example. In "Asterix in Britain", Asterix and his friend Obelix (I'll get around to the characters later; there's another area where even translations of names don't work) answer a call for help from their British cousins to help them fight the Romans. In the French books the joke is that when the British are speaking they place all the adjectives before the nouns, as we do in English. Of course, in general in French the adjective comes after the noun (yes, I know there are exceptions). There's no way that that joke is going to work when you translate into English.

The Asterix books are the creation of Rene Goscinny, who wrote the stories until his death in 1977 and Albert Uderzo who draws the pictures and, since the death of Goscinny, also writes the stories. The first book "Asterix the Gaul", was published in 1961 after the characters had been initially introduced in a cartoon strip in a magazine. To date dozens of Asterix books have been produced and, demonstrating the International appeal of the series, eleven of them have been made into films. Three have even been with real actors rather than cartoon characters, with such illustrious actors as Gerard Depardieu and M&S model, Noemie Lenoir (the stunning black one, who's married to Chelsea star Claude Makelele), lining up to play a role.

Underlining this appeal is the number of languages into which the books have been translated, over a hundred major and minor languages and dialects at the latest count. In each language a different treatment of the jokes has to be adopted as, what works in French doesn't necessarily work in English but what works in English probably doesn't work in Italian.

The English translations have been brilliantly conceived by Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge. Their instinct for what works in English whilst maintaining the spirit of the original French, even where they have had to invent a completely different joke, has been inspirational. Taking the example mentioned before, of "Asterix in Britain", realising that the reverse syntax joke wouldn't work in English they decided instead to use English linguistic mannerisms from the early 20th century instead. So, the Brits use English phrases that are stereotypically associated with the so called Upper Classes of the 20s and 30s; think Bertie Wooster. For example, they might say, "Spiffing day, what?" Adding ",what" to the end of a sentence is used regularly.

So, who are Asterix and his friends, for those who may never have heard of him or never read the books? Asterix is a Gaul, one of those Celtic tribes that caused the Romans so much trouble. Specifically, Asterix and his particular tribe are the last of the Gauls of what is today France, holding out against the Roman onslaught. Their village is out on the edge of the French mainland in the area we know as Brittany. They are surrounded by Romans who seem to be totally unable to defeat this rebellious tribe. Why have they managed to hold out where all others have fallen?

Asterix is not, however, the village leader, nor, in appearance, is he the most physically impressive of his tribe. That honour falls to his friend Obelix. What makes Asterix the hero is that in battle he is a human whirlwind, laying to waste (though not killing; no one in the Asterix books is ever killed) all before him, Roman or otherwise. The reason for his indefatigability and the survival of his village is Magic Potion (I'll get to this in a minute).

Asterix is so named in the original French and in all translations of the books. This is undoubtedly so as to ensure that the books are instantly recognised world-wide. He could hardly be called be called a different name could he? His name works in most languages as it is derived from the Latin "Aster", a star, for that he most certainly is, and the -ix suffix that the books use to denote all male Gaullish characters.

Obelix is also so named in all versions of the books and, once again his name is appropriate for the character he represents. Obelix' name is clearly a play on the word "obelisk", a fair representation of his own physical stature and also the job he does. Obelix is the village strongman, a veritable mountain of a man (played in the films by Depardieu). By profession he is a carver of standing stones, "menhirs" in French, which he extracts from his quarry and delivers by hand to his customers. His formidible strength come from his having fallen into a vat of Magic Potion when just a baby. This has resulted in him never needing to drink any ever again, a fact that he finds "gaulling" as he is addicted to it. He spends much of his time trying to find ways of getting some and his friends spending just as much time trying to keep him away from it. His favourite food is wild boar ("sanglier"), which he consumes in quantities that would make even Desperate Dan's eyes water. Obelix is Asterix' closest friend.

But, there is a third member of the friendship and here we come to the first character whose name in French is different from that in English and demonstrates the inspiration of Bell and Hockridge in choosing appropriate translations. This third member is not human, it's a little dog, Obelix' dog. In French he is called Idefix ("idee fixe" in French or an obsessive pursuit of an single idea, his case bones). In English he has been translated into Dogmatix (from dogmatic), which better reflects the nature of the character than the original name but trumps the French by including "dog" in the name as well. Of course, by contrast, Dogmatix would be meaningless in French as the French word for dog is chien.

The magic potion on which the tribe relies for it's ability to defeat all opposition is produced by the village's Druid. In French the Druid is named Panoramix, from "panoramic", denoting a very wide range of experience or views, as you would expect of such a person. In the English translation however, he is Getafix, which plays very effectively with the whole drug thing that is behind the Magic Potion and its effects on behaviour. OK, these are children's books but our kids seem to be worldly wise enough these days to understand the joke.

When Asterix visits Britain to help his British cousins fight the Romans he naturally takes with him a barrel of Magic Potion for the fight. The British rely on hot water with a drop of milk. For reasons I won’t explain here (read the book) the barrel gets lost and so Asterix has to pretend to brew some more Magic Potion from some herbs he has with him. It will come as no surprise to find out that these herbs turn out to be tea!

One other character that should be mentioned is the Bard. His role is to produce suitable ballads to celebrate the warriors going off to war and also returning in [inevitable] triumph. This he does appallingly badly, to the extent that we usually see him hanging upside-down, gagged and bound at the end of every story so as not to disturb the enjoyment of the celebrations. In French he is called Assurancetourix, a play on the term "assurance tous risques" or All Risks Insurance. Here we have a name that the French totally get, which would leave most Brits completely puzzled.

To understand the name you have to understand the cynical attitude of the French towards insurance. They have a natural assumption that if an insurance is described as "All Risks" then one thing is certain, that whatever caused the loss they have suffered, the insurance company will find a way of proving that that is one risk NOT covered by the policy. Likewise the Bard; whatever he is supposed to be he most certainly doesn't deliver what he supposed to. In English he is named Cacofonix (from cacophonic, describing an unholy racket), which fully describes the sound he produces when he sings. Like many such characters, he cannot understand why his "talents" aren't appreciated.

The World of Asterix is not limited to the books and the films. What should also be mentioned is that, as true French icon, he even has his own theme park, Parc Asterix. Parc Asterix is located on the A1 motorway that connect Paris with Calais (via the A26), shortly before it passes under Charles de Gualles Airport on the north-east outskirts of Paris. From the UK this makes it a perfectly feasible day out, and I suggest that you do.

Although I haven't been for some years, having taken the kids there during one of our many camping holidays in France, I understand that it has continued to be an enduring attraction and new developments appear regularly. We certainly had a great time there although the kids were very young and, unfortunately below the height limit for the most formidible ride of all, Goudurix ("gout de risque" - a "taste of danger"), which sadly meant I couldn't either! The park now also features Tonnerre de Zeus ("Zeus's Thunder"), claimed to be the biggest wooden roller coaster in Europe. Both of these you can ride "virtually" at the Parc Asterix website (www.parcasterix.fr). There are also lots of other rides more suitable for smaller children.

Parc Asterix also features live entertainments, which change from year to year. The current feature is La Legion Recruite, a show put on in a simulated Roman Arena. The great thing about these shows is that you can follow and enjoy them even if you aren't fluent in French. They are all very visual.

I have loved the stories of Asterix and his friends for years and have regularly sought out both French and English versions. If you don't read French then the English ones will entertain perfectly alone. If you do speak French then do try the French versions and enjoy and compare the different jokes. Most of all, take the kids to Parc Asterix. You won't regret it. If you want to learn more about the Asterix books and characters and their origins, there is a wealth of information out there on the Internet.

Summary: An internationally acclaimed French cartoon character