Tintin Forums

labrador road 26
everything else points it to be in France.

Well, everyone is entitled to their own point of view, but I think that everything points to it being in Belgium. I’m not absolutely certain, but I think that you are maybe the first person to have come up with the two-country hypothesis on these boards, so I don’t think it is a very obvious fact, if it is true.

As Harrock points out, the police wear Belgian uniforms, but there are also Belgian trains on the track at the station in the village, and a Belgian post-box.

It also seems slightly implausible that our heroes commute to Brussels for a night out at the cinema or theatre, but live in France, without ever mentioning the fact…

In the case of what was allowed then, and what is done now, I think you answered your own question - Hergé could make any decision he wanted, without question, and thus editorial changes were possible; now the executors of his wishes have to remain true to the idea that no one does Tintin after Hergé’s death, which makes such change impossible.

However, I cannot see that the assertion that localizing names etc. could not happen now is true; if it was felt that it would help to develop a new translation, that would be within the scope of what Hergé deemed acceptable, and I am sure that the estate would help, just as they have allowed the author of the current play in London scope to develop ideas of his own.

It also seems slightly implausible that our heroes commute to Brussels for a night out at the cinema or theatre, but live in France, without ever mentiong the fact…

But then locating Marlingspike in England would make this even more strange. (Which I think I saw discussed somewhere else in this forum.)

Though I once had an idea about traveling to Paris to see Star Wars episode I at the first premiere screening and then flying Concorde to New York and see the first premiere screening there also. What a wierd idea, now that I think of it, but it seemed good at the time. (It never happened of course.)

Would you say that all the things about the french king and the french marine was because Belgium really didn't have any of the necessary things at that time, so it had to be another country or what's the general thoughts on that.

Just come to think about a thing. Since The secret of the Unicorn was created during the german occupation it was sort of strange that the german control didn't pick-up on that it was the frech marine. Read in Benoit Peeters book (and elsewhere) that all the scientist in Shooting Star was made axis or neutral because of the occupation situation. (Sorry if this is not really on topic.)

labrador road 26
But then locating Marlingspike in England would make this even more strange.

Well no, because when Marlinspike moved to England (with Hergé’s blessing), the city of Brussels became London… Anything is possible in Tintinland!

But anyway, we must agree to disagree, as there isn’t any answer to it - it’s just how it happened, and you don’t care for it, which is absolutely fine!

As to how the Unicorn/ Rackham story fits into Franco-Belgian history, well I have absolutely no knowledge of the subject, so I can’t comment; as you say, anyway, it is drifting well off topic for the thread…

I think there are some dodgy translations for Soviets for some reason…
And although I’m not complaining, “mille millards de mille sabords” does not mean, “Billions of blue blistering barnicles”. Wonder what it realy means?

It means “Thousands of billions of port-holes” (or similar)…

The whole point of it was to give Captain Haddock the opportunity to curse and swear without actually offending anyone - so more important than the translation of the actual, literal, words, was to find something which conveyed the effect required.

The English version is actually very good, as it a) keeps the phrase alliterative, which sounds good, and b) it keeps it nautical, so that it’s appropriate for an old sailor. Add to that the ability to scale it up or down in size (“Blistering barnacles!”; “Blue blistering barnacles!”; “Bilious blue blistering barnacles!” etc.), and it is a very versatile form for translators having to deal with fitting words into pre-drawn spaces.

If anything “Thundering typhoons!” is better than the original “Tonnerre de Brest…!”, as it adds the alliteration (albeit when written on the page) and makes it more like “Blistering barnacles!”, and you can also multiply it up quite well (“Ten thousand thundering typhoons!”). Then you get into mega-curses (e.g. “Billions of billious blue blistering barnacles in ten thousand thundering typhoons!”), and the effect works extremely well…

As to what you regard as problems with the Soviets translation, well you’ll need to give examples.

I can’t remember specific words or phrases as I don’t actually own the book, I borrowed it off a friend and noticed some strange translations.

Hergé made a mistranslation in the French version of Tintin au Tibet. On page 11 Tintin asks a local man the way to Chang’s relative’s shop; he (the local man) then says, "There up sahib" which is clearly a mistranslation of, “la-haut”. Ha , everyone makes mistakes.

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I always took this to show that the character had only a very basic command of English - hence Hergé has him speaking pidgin, like many other foreigners in the books.

By this stage of his career Hergé was taking great pains with accuracy, and consulted foreign students to help with the languages. It is unlikely that this 'cod English' was a genuine mistake.

Ed