I always assumed the translators were simply doing a heroic job. Getting puns and wordplay to work across languages is hard. I would not be surprised if some jokes had to be significantly changed for different languages or countries.
this post was submitted on 13 Nov 2025
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There's a legendary blog post about this:
https://auntymuriel.com/2012/12/23/asterix-in-translation-the-genius-of-anthea-bell-and-derek-hockridge/
Also a rare chance to plug my community, which has posted a fair share of Asterix and other BD goodies: https://piefed.social/c/eurographicnovels
EDIT: As a matter of fact, I'll be posting the first three pages of Asterix' new Lusitania adventure in a few minutes... EDIT2: Done! :D
There's a legendary German translater fir Disney stuff (which I was more into as a kid):
Do you know if she tended to do more of the Euro-Disney or American-Disney stuff?
Iirc she basically translated all of Carl Barks into German, but she might have done a lot of other things Im not aware of.
I love that his name is O.G. San (Ojiisan, Grandpa in Japanese)
I still hate that example. The adaptation example uses phrasing that is absolutely ambiguous in a way none of the others are but is presented as the most developed product.
Thanks. I think you’re right. And I like that illustration.
The translators did a heroic job. They even changed the names to make them funnier (Getafix is Panoramix in French). I do wonder what the Corsican's name is in French given that boneywasawarroirwayayix is very English (language and culture) specific.
As a humble brag my Pa knew Anthea Bell's brother - she was doing the English translations.
I do wonder what the Corsican's name is in French given that boneywasawarroirwayayix is very English (language and culture) specific.
His original French name is Ocatarinetabellatchitchix, which is a reference to a song by Tino Rossi (who has Corse ancestry).
That’s an awesome niche name drop. I approve.
I‘ve only ever read the German versions but to my knowledge, they have been originally written in french and it’s up to the translators to also translate the humour. As is generally with any media (books, movies, games, etc.).
That can work very well and sometimes translations can even add additional humour that the originals didn’t have.
We used to read both versions in high school French class. There was much more slang in French. Many of these were replaced by silly puns in English.
Even the names: Getafix the druid was originally Panoramix. Dogmatix the dog was Idéfix (this is actually a pretty good translation, keeping the core idea of single-mindedness, plus it has Dog in it).
The chief and bard names are the worse. Abraracourcix is a reference to someone prone to violence in French, which is why he keeps getting angry and red-faced. There's a whole plotline about him having to go to a spa so he can lose weight and relax. Not sure why they renamed him to Vitalstatistix in English.
And the noisy bard goes from Assurancetourix (comprehensive insurance joke) to an unsubtle Cacofonix. But to answer your question, most of the bad puns were added in the English translation.
FWIW, they did a reverse butcher job with Harry Potter books. The French versions literally translated the British expressions word-for-word to the point they made no sense.
Amazing. Thanks. The translators did a great job then. I remember that book where he goes to the spa and people keep poking his appendix.
That's the Chieftain's Shield which has always been my favourite Asterix book, since I was little. Love it ❤️
Well, one’s vital statistics would include things like heart rate and blood pressure, so the name is presumably a reference to his strained demeanour.
Not sure of this will help you but this subject has been discussed on Arte, the German/French TV CHANNEL
https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/124957-000-A/asterix/
Sorry it's not in English.
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