Editing Asterix (section)

==Humour==
The humour encountered in the ''Asterix'' comics often centers around [[pun]]s, [[caricature]]s, and [[tongue-in-cheek]] [[stereotype]]s of contemporary European nations and [[List of regions in France|French regions]]. Much of the multi-layered humour in the initial Asterix books was French-specific, which delayed the translation of the books into other languages for fear of losing the jokes and the spirit of the story. Some translations have actually added local humour: In the Italian translation, the Roman legionaries are made to speak in 20th-century Roman dialect, and Obelix's famous ''[[:fr:Ils sont fous, ces Romains !|Ils sont fous, ces Romains !]]'' ("These Romans are crazy") is translated as ''Sono pazzi questi romani'', a long-established humorous expansion of the Roman abbreviation ''[[SPQR]]''.<ref>See, e.g. {{cite book|last=von Hefner|first=Otto Titan|author-link=:de:Otto Titan von Hefner|url=https://archive.org/stream/handbuchdertheo00hefngoog#page/n122/mode/2up|title=Handbuch der theoretischen und praktischen Heraldik|year=1861|location=Munich|page=106}}</ref> In another example: [[Hiccups]] are written [[onomatopoeia|onomatopoeically]] in French as ''hips'', but in English as "hic", allowing Roman legionaries in more than one of the English translations to [[declension|decline]] their hiccups absurdly in Latin (''hic, haec, hoc''). The newer albums share a more universal humour, both written and visual.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7049642.stm |title=The vital statistics of Asterix |date=18 October 2007 |publisher=BBC News|access-date=10 March 2010 | location=London| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100208100111/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7049642.stm| archive-date= 8 February 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>

===Character names===
All the fictional characters in ''Asterix'' have names which are puns on their roles or personalities, and which follow certain patterns specific to nationality. Certain rules are followed (most of the time) such as Gauls (and their neighbours) having an "-ix" suffix for the men and ending in "-a" for the women; for example, Chief [[Vitalstatistix]] (so called due to his portly stature) and his wife [[Impedimenta]] (often at odds with the chief). The male Roman names end in "-us", echoing Latin nominative male singular form, as in [[List of Asterix characters#Romans|Gluteus Maximus]], a muscle-bound athlete whose name is literally the [[gluteus maximus|butt]] of the joke. Gothic names (present-day Germany) end in "-ic", after Gothic chiefs such as [[Alaric I|Alaric]] and [[Theoderic]]; for example [[Rhetoric]] the interpreter. Greek names end in "-os" or "-es"; for example, [[Thermos]] the restaurateur. British names usually end in "-ax" or "-os" and are often puns on the [[Taxation in the United Kingdom|taxation]] associated with the later [[United Kingdom]]; examples include Mykingdomforanos, a British tribal chieftain, [[Value added tax|Valuaddedtax]] the druid, and [[Selective employment tax|Selectivemploymentax]] the mercenary. Names of Normans end with "-af", for example Nescaf or Cenotaf. Egyptian characters often end in ''-is'', such as the architects Edifis and Artifis, and the scribe Exlibris. Indic names, apart from the only Indic female characters Orinjade and Lemuhnade, exhibit considerable variation; examples include Watziznehm, Watzit, Owzat, and Howdoo. Other nationalities are treated to [[pidgin]] translations from their language, like Huevos y Bacon, a Spanish chieftain (whose name, meaning [[wikt:eggs and bacon|eggs and bacon]], is often guidebook Spanish for tourists), or literary and other popular media references, like [[List of Asterix characters#Caricatures|Dubbelosix]] (a sly reference to [[James Bond]]'s codename "007").<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Embleton |first=Sheila |date=1991-01-01 |title=Names and Their Substitutes: Onomastic Observations on Astérix and Its Translations1 |url=https://benjamins.com/online/target/articles/target.3.2.04emb |journal=Target. International Journal of Translation Studies |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=175–206 |doi=10.1075/target.3.2.04emb |issn=0924-1884 |access-date=10 April 2022 |archive-date=28 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128175040/https://benjamins.com/online/target/articles/target.3.2.04emb |url-status=live }}</ref>

Most of these jokes, and hence the names of the characters, are specific to the translation; for example, the druid named [[Getafix]] in English translation – "get a fix", referring to the character's role in dispensing the [[Potion|magic potion]] – is ''Panoramix'' in the original French and ''Miraculix'' in German.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asterix.com/the-a-to-z-of-asterix/characters/getafix.html|publisher=Asterix the official website|title=A to Z of Asterix: Getafix|access-date=8 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111204808/http://www.asterix.com/the-a-to-z-of-asterix/characters/getafix.html|archive-date=11 January 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Even so, occasionally the wordplay has been preserved: Obelix's dog, known in the original French as ''Idéfix'' (from ''[[Idée fixe (psychology)|idée fixe]]'', a "fixed idea" or obsession), is called ''Dogmatix'' in English, which not only renders the original meaning strikingly closely ("dogmatic") but in fact adds another layer of wordplay with the syllable "Dog-" at the beginning of the name.

The name ''Asterix'', [[French language|French]] ''Astérix'', comes from ''{{lang|fr|astérisque}}'', meaning "[[asterisk]]", which is the typographical symbol '''*''' indicating a footnote, from the Greek word ἀστήρ (''aster''), meaning a "star". His name is usually left unchanged in translations, aside from accents and the use of local [[alphabet]]s. For example, in [[Esperanto]], [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Slovene language|Slovene]], [[Latvian language|Latvian]], and [[Turkish language|Turkish]] it is ''Asteriks'' (in Turkish he was first named ''Bücür'' meaning "shorty", but the name was then standardised). Two exceptions include [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]], in which he is known as ''Ástríkur'' ("Rich of love"), and [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]], where he is known as {{lang|si|සූර පප්පා}} (''Soora Pappa''), which can be interpreted as "[[Hero]]". The name ''Obelix'' (''Obélix'') may refer to "[[obelisk]]", a stone column from ancient Egypt (and hence his large size and strength and his task of carrying around [[menhir]]s), but also to another typographical symbol, the [[Dagger (mark)|obelisk or obelus]] ({{char|†}}).

For explanations of some of the other names, see [[List of Asterix characters|List of ''Asterix'' characters]].

===Ethnic stereotypes===
Many of the ''Asterix'' adventures take place in other countries away from their homeland in Gaul. In every album that takes place abroad, the characters meet (usually modern-day) stereotypes for each country, as seen by the French.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2 November 2009|title=In praise of... Asterix|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/nov/02/in-praise-asterix|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908060259/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/nov/02/in-praise-asterix|archive-date=8 September 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

* Italics (Italians) are the inhabitants of Italy. In the adventures of Asterix, the term "Romans" is used by non-Italics to refer to all inhabitants of Italy, who at that time had extended their dominion over a large part of the [[Mediterranean basin]]. But as can be seen in ''[[Asterix and the Chariot Race]]'', in the [[Italian Peninsula]] this term is used only to refer to the people from the capital, with many Italics preferring to identify themselves as [[Umbrians]], [[Etruscans]], [[Adriatic Veneti|Venetians]], etc. Various topics from this country are explored, as in this example, [[Italian cuisine]] (pasta, pizza, wine), art, famous people ([[Luciano Pavarotti]], [[Silvio Berlusconi]], [[Leonardo da Vinci]]'s [[Mona Lisa]]), and even the controversial issues of [[political corruption]]. Romans in general appear more similar to the historical Romans than to modern-age Italians.
* Goths (Germans) are disciplined and [[militaristic]], but divided into many [[Political faction|factions]] that fight amongst each other (which is a reference to Germany before [[Otto von Bismarck]], and to the rivalry between [[East Germany]] and [[West Germany]] in the [[Aftermath of World War II]]), and they wear the [[Pickelhaube]] helmet common during the [[German Empire]]. In later appearances, the Goths tend to be more good-natured.
* Helvetians (Swiss) are neutral, eat [[fondue]], and are obsessed with cleaning, accurate time-keeping, and banks.
* The Britons (English) are [[phlegmatic]], and speak with early 20th-century aristocratic slang (similar to [[Bertie Wooster]]). They stop for [[tea (drink)|tea]] every day (making it with hot water and a drop of milk until Asterix brings them actual [[tea]] leaves), drink lukewarm beer ([[Bitter (beer)|Bitter]]), eat foods with mint sauce that are considered tasteless by the non-Briton characters ([[Rosbif]]), and live in streets containing rows of identical houses. In ''Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia'' the Britons all wore woollen pullovers and [[Tam o' shanter (cap)|Tam o' shanters]]. 
* Hibernians (Irish) inhabit Hibernia, the Latin name of Ireland and they fight against the Romans alongside the Britons to defend the British Isles.
* Iberians (Spanish) are filled with [[pride]] and have rather choleric tempers. They produce [[olive oil]], provide very slow aid for chariot problems on the Roman roads and (thanks to Asterix) adopt [[bullfighting]] as a tradition.
* When the Gauls visited North America in ''[[Asterix and the Great Crossing]]'', Obelix punches one of the attacking [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] with a [[knockout]] blow. The warrior first hallucinates [[American eagle|American-style emblematic eagles]]; the second time, he sees stars in the formation of the [[Flag of the United States|Stars and Stripes]]; the third time, he sees stars shaped like the [[United States military aircraft national insignia|United States Air Force roundel]]. Asterix's inspired idea for getting the attention of a [[L'Anse aux Meadows|nearby Viking ship]] (which could take them back to Gaul) is to hold up a torch; this refers to the [[Statue of Liberty]] (which was a gift from France).
* Corsicans are proud, patriotic, and easily aroused but lazy, making decisions by using [[political corruption|pre-filled]] [[ballot box]]es. They harbour [[Feud|vendettas]] against each other, and always take their [[siesta]]. 
* Greeks are [[chauvinism|chauvinists]] and consider Romans, Gauls, and all others to be [[barbarians]]. They eat stuffed grape leaves ([[dolma]]), drink resinated wine ([[retsina]]), and are [[tourism in Greece|hospitable to tourists]]. Most seem to be related by blood, and often [[nepotism|suggest some cousin]] appropriate for a job. Greek characters are often depicted in side profile, making them resemble figures from classical Greek vase paintings. 
* Normans ([[Vikings]]) drink endlessly, they always use [[cream]] in their cuisine, they don't know what fear is (which they're trying to discover), and in their home territory ([[Scandinavia]]), the night lasts for 6 months.<br>Their depiction in the albums is a mix of stereotypes of [[Scandinavia]]n Vikings and the [[Normans|Norman French]]. Their names end in "-af".
* [[Cimbri|Cimbres]] (Danes) are very similar to the Normans with the greatest difference being that the Gauls are unable to communicate with them. Their names end in "-sen", a common ending of surnames in Denmark and Norway akin to "-son".
* Belgians speak with a funny accent, snub the Gauls, and always eat [[French fries|sliced roots deep-fried in bear fat]]. They also tell [[Belgian joke]]s.
* Lusitanians (Portuguese) are short in stature and polite (Uderzo said all the Portuguese who he had met were like that). Their most recent appearance in the albums depicts them with an easy-going and procrastinating nature. 
* The Indians have elephant trainers, as well as gurus who can fast for weeks and levitate on [[magic carpet]]s. They worship thirty-three million deities and consider cows as sacred. They also bathe in the [[Ganges]] river.
* Egyptians are short with prominent noses, endlessly engaged in building pyramids and palaces. Their favorite food is [[lentil soup]] and they sail [[felucca]]s along the banks of the [[Nile River]].
* Persians (Iranians) produce [[carpets]] and staunchly refuse to mend foreign ones. They eat [[caviar]], as well as roasted camel and the women wear [[burqas]].
* [[Hittites]], [[Sumer]]ians, [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadians]], [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], and [[Babylonia]]ns are perpetually at war with each other and attack strangers because they confuse them with their enemies, but they later apologize when they realize that the strangers are not their enemies. This is likely a criticism of the constant conflicts among the Middle Eastern peoples.
* The Jews are all depicted as [[Yemenite Jews]], with dark skin, black eyes, and beards, a tribute to [[Marc Chagall]], the famous painter whose painting of [[King David]] hangs at the [[Knesset]] (Israeli Parliament).
* [[Numidian]]s, contrary to the [[Berbers|Berber]] inhabitants of ancient Numidia (located in North Africa), are obviously Africans from [[sub-Saharan Africa]]. The names end in "-tha", similar to the historical king [[Jugurtha]] of Numidia.
* The Picts (Scots) wear a typical dress with a [[kilt]] (skirt), have the habit of drinking "malt water" ([[whisky]]) and throwing logs ([[caber toss]]ing) as a popular sport and their names all start with "Mac-".
* Sarmatians (Ukrainians) inhabit the North [[Black Sea]] area, which represents present-day Ukraine. Their names end in "-ov", like many Ukrainian surnames.

When the Gauls see foreigners speaking their foreign languages, these have different representations in the cartoon [[speech bubble]]s:

*Iberian: Same as Spanish, with inversion of exclamation marks ('¡') and question marks ("¿")
*Goth language: Gothic script (incomprehensible to the Gauls, except Getafix, who speaks Gothic)
*Cimbres: "Ø" and "Å" instead of "O" and "A" (incomprehensible to the Gauls)
*Amerindian: Pictograms and sign language (generally incomprehensible to the Gauls)
*Egyptians and Kushites: [[Hieroglyphs]] with explanatory footnotes (incomprehensible to the Gauls)
*Greek: Straight letters, carved as if in stone
*Sarmatian: In their speech balloons, some letters (E, F, N, R ...) are written in a mirror-reversed form, which evokes the modern [[Cyrillic alphabet]].