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Asterix
Thread poster: Daniel Jeory
Daniel Jeory
Daniel Jeory
Local time: 05:06
Member (2003)
German to English
Dec 5, 2003

If anyone's got time, tune into, or log onto BBC 5 live: the English translator of the Asterix books is talking about the problems of translating the books.

Oh well, it was only for 10 minutes after all that! Amazing how she managed to translate the names and puns though, and how she always had to keep the size of the speech bubbles in mind!

[Edited at 2003-12-05 11:15]
 
Lorenzo Lilli
Lorenzo Lilli  Identity Verified
Local time: 06:06
German to Italian
+ ...
wow Dec 6, 2003

I really love Asterix, unfortunately I had no time to listen to the thing you mentioned. In Germany I saw the translation into German dialects, it was sooo funny! I don't think they were translated into Italian dialects too
 
Textklick
Textklick  Identity Verified
Local time: 05:06
German to English
+ ...
In memoriam
Aschterix Dec 8, 2003

Yep - They even differentiate between Schwäbisch and Alemannisch.

Full list af languages at:http://www.asterix-obelix.nl/manylanguages/
 
Melina Kajander
Melina Kajander
Finland
English to Finnish
+ ...
Yes... Dec 8, 2003

Some Asterix stories have been translated into one or two of Finnish dialects, too! I have to say they sound incredibly funny...(Well, the two dialects in question sound quite funny anyway, in my opinion...)
 
José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 01:06
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
Carte Blanche in translation Dec 15, 2003

Astérix is a typical case of "carte blanche" in translation, which is the true spirit of localization: it's not important to "keep" the original puns; the goal is to provide reader with an equivalent amount of them.

I had the opportunity to read the same Astérix book in four different languages, and it's amazing how the translators take every chance to create jokes as they are possible in the target language.

The best example is the original keyline "Ils sont fous, ce... See more
Astérix is a typical case of "carte blanche" in translation, which is the true spirit of localization: it's not important to "keep" the original puns; the goal is to provide reader with an equivalent amount of them.

I had the opportunity to read the same Astérix book in four different languages, and it's amazing how the translators take every chance to create jokes as they are possible in the target language.

The best example is the original keyline "Ils sont fous, ces Romains!". In the Italian version, when our two heroes see S.P.Q.R. in Rome, the translator took the chance to give one of them (can't remember whether it was Astérix or Obélix) the chance to say:
"See? Here they even write it on the walls, 'Sono Pazzi Questi Romani'." (= These Romans are crazy!)

This, AFAIK, would have been totally impossible in any other language. ▲ Collapse
 


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