Analysis of Misunderstanding Caused by Different

Interpretations of Speech Act Labels in Tintin and

Asterix Comic Series
Farah Attamimi
English Department, Faculty of Letters, Maranatha Christian University,
Suria Sumantri 65, Bandung 40164, Indonesia
e-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: This paper presents analysis of misunderstanding occurred in
a conversation which is caused by different interpretation of speech act
labels between the speaker and the hearer. Misunderstanding occurred
in these comic series causes various emotional effects to the hearer
involved in the conversation. The hearer might feel happy, impressed,
embarrassed, or even proud of what the speaker conveys through his/
her utterance. It depends on the face wants used and intended between
the participants in the conversation. According to Goffman in Brown
and Levinson (1987), face is something that is emotionally invested,
and that can be lost, maintained, or enhanced, and must be constantly
attended to in interaction (p. 60). There are two kinds of face wants.
The positive purpose is called face saving act, while the negative one is
called face threatening act. The data in this paper are taken from Tintin
and Asterix comic series. The theories used cover pragmatics area,
especially taxonomy of speech act theory (Yule, 1996; Mey, 2001;
Leech, 1991) and theory of the notion of face by Erving Goffman (as
cited in Yule, 1996; Thomas, 1995). Therefore, this paper will try to
convey how the misinterpretation of speech act labels affects the
participants in the conversation.
Key words: misunderstanding, speech act labels, speaker, hearer, face
wants, face saving act, face threatening act, participants

Language is one of the most important aspects in building

communication. According to Nasr (as cited in Sukarno, 2010), languages
are said to be unique (p. 59). Without language, both the verbal and non
verbal language, people will not be able to communicate well. Levinson
(1995) states that communication is a complex kind of intention that is
achieved or satisfied just by being recognized (p. 16). However, as an

78

Attamimi , Analysis of Misunderstanding Caused by Different Interpretations

79

utterance conveyed by a speaker may be interpreted as many more than

one meaning by a hearer, even with the existence of language,
misinterpretation may happen. Levinson defines an utterance as the
issuance of a sentence, a sentence-analogue, or sentence-fragment, in an
actual context (p. 18). A good communication, of course, needs to be
supported by the use of appropriate language in one circumstance with the
intention of conveying the correct information or messages to the other
participants, so as to avoid misinterpretation. Crowley & Mitchell (as cited
in Tupan & Natalia, 2008), support the above explanation that in a
conversation, a speaker and a hearer are supposed to respond to each other
in their turn and exchange with the needed information that benefits both of
them (p. 63).
The subject of misunderstanding is interesting to discuss because it is
something that commonly happens, regardless of time, place and
participants of the conversation. In addition, it gives the writer such a big
curiosity to find out some factors affecting misunderstanding and the
various emotional effects on the participants appearing in a certain
conversation.
One of the factors that cause misinterpretation in human
communication is the different interpretation of speech act labels. The
same words can be used to perform different speech act; therefore, different
words can be used to perform the same speech act (as cited in Thomas,
1995, p. 51). One utterance which is labelled a question by a speaker may
be interpreted differently by a hearer. For instance, the hearer may interpret
it as an insult. As a result, this misinterpretation may cause him or her to
feel offended. In association with the above opinion, Grundy (2000) adds
that a sentence with interrogative form can be taken not only as a
question, but also as an indirect request/ order or as an indirect assertions
(p. 58).
The writer chooses Tintin and Asterix comic series as the data source
because it is popular not only with children, but also with adults. In those
comic series, the writer can find a lot of amusingly funny scenes and they
are often caused by some elements of misunderstanding in the characters
interactions.
Tintin is one of the most famous comic series in the world. It was first
printed in 1930. Asterix is a fictional character, created in 1959 as the hero
of a French comic series. Both Tintin and Asterix have a very good story.

80

VOLUME 13, NUMBER 1, JUNE 2011: 78-95

The story is a combination of a thriller, adventure and comedy which

usually takes place in many countries.
In this analysis, there are two theories in Pragmatics that are used as
the approaches. Yule (1996) points out that pragmatics is concerned with
the study of meaning as communicated by a speaker and interpreted by a
listener. It has, consequently, more to do with the analysis of what people
mean by their utterances than what the words or phrases in those utterances
might mean by themselves (p. 3). In line with Yules explanation about
Pragmatics, Johnson and Johnson (as quoted in Al-Marrani, 2010) state
that pragmatic competence is an aspect of communicative competence
and refers to the ability to communicate appropriately in particular context
of use (p. 63). Thomas (as cited in Kusumarasdyati, 2003) also
emphasizes that pragmatics recognizes the importance of context, and
thus can reveal the meaning underlying a certain utterance (p. 14).
In this area, the writer applies the speech act theory by John Searle, an
American philosopher. Searle presents a rational taxonomy of types of
speech act; besides, he explores the relation between the meaning of
sentences and the contexts of their utterances. (Yule, 1996; Mey, 2001)
The second theory applied is Erving Goffmans theory of the notion
of face, which is closely connected politeness area (Yule, 1996; Thomas
1995). Goffman is a well-known sociologist who provides a description of
how language is positioned in particular circumstances of social life, and
how it reflects, and adds meaning and structure in those circumstances. By
applying the theory of the notion of face, we may discover that
misunderstanding will cause the different emotional reaction of face saving
and face threatening acts between the participants. Goffman considers
emotions and feelings such as embarrassment, shame, pride, and he makes
these an integral part of his analysis of social face.
There are several problems that would be discussed in this paper: 1)
Which Speech Act labels are misinterpreted in the conversation in Tintin
and Asterix comic series? 2) How are the Speech Act labels
misinterpreted? 3) What is the effect of each misinterpretation in the
conversation on the participants?
The contributions of the present study are to show: 1) The Speech Act
labels which are misinterpreted in the conversation in Tintin and Asterix
comic series. 2) How the Speech Act labels are misinterpreted. 3) The
effect of each misinterpretation in the conversation on the participants.

Attamimi , Analysis of Misunderstanding Caused by Different Interpretations

81

SPEECH ACT
In expressing something, people do not only produce utterances
containing grammatical structures and words, they also perform actions via
those utterances. According to Yule (1996), actions performed via
utterances are generally called speech acts (p. 47). In line with the
definition, Mey (2001) also states that speech acts are words with which
to do things (p. 93). As mentioned before, in English, speech acts are
usually given more specific labels such as apology, complaint, order,
invitation, promise, request, etc.
Austin (as cited in Thomas, 1995) states that he used the term speech
act to refer to an utterance and the total situation in which the utterance is
issued (p. 51). Austins ideas about speech acts are elaborated by John
Searle, an American philosopher. It is said in Schiffrin (1994) that Searle
focuses his works on the classification of acts about which people know
and the way that a single utterance can be associated with more than one
act.
Searle proposes one general classification system listing five types of
general functions performed by speech acts (Yule, 1996; Mey, 2001;
Leech, 1991). They are:
1. Declarations: those kinds of speech acts that change the world via their
utterance (Yule, 1996, p. 53). e.g, appointing, marrying, excommunicating, declaring war, christening, dismissing, resigning, sentencing,
etc. In order to perform this speech act appropriately, the speaker has to
have a special institutional role, in a specific context. (Yule, 1996;
Leech, 1991)
2. Representatives/ Assertive: those kinds of speech acts that state what
the speaker believes to be the case or not (Yule, 1996, p. 53). e.g,
statement of facts, insistence, asserting, concluding, boasting, describing,
claiming, reporting, complaining, etc.
3. Expressives: those kinds of speech acts that state what the speaker
feels. They express a psychological state and can be statements of
pleasure, pain, likes, dislikes, joy, or sorrow (p. 53). e.g, thanking,
apologizing, welcoming, insulting, congratulating, accusing, blaming,
praising, condoling, etc.
4. Directives: those kinds of speech acts that speakers use to get someone
else to do something. They express what the speaker wants. They can
be positive or negative (p. 54). e.g, commanding, ordering, requesting,
suggesting, challenging, daring, asking, begging, dismissing, excusing,

82

VOLUME 13, NUMBER 1, JUNE 2011: 78-95

forbidding, warning, instructing, permitting, requiring, recommending,

etc.
5. Commissives: those kinds of speech acts that speakers use to commit
themselves to some future action. They express what the speaker
intends to do. They can be performed by the speaker alone, or by the
speaker as a member of a group (p. 54). e.g, promises, threats, refusals,
pledges, invitations, swears, volunteers, offers, etc.
FACE WANTS
It is said previously that interpreting an utterance involves both a
speaker and a hearer; in addition, it will also affect the participants
emotionally. In politeness theory face is understood as every individuals
feeling of self-image; which can be damaged, maintained or enhanced
through interaction with others (Thomas, 1995). According to Mey (2001),
the term face, as an explanatory concept in human interaction, was
originally introduced by Erving Goffman. In line with the above
explanation, Yule (1996) also adds that within everyday social interaction,
people generally behave as if their expectations concerning their public
self-image, or their face wants, will be respected (p. 61).
Trosborg (1995) argues that people are allowed to defend their faces
if threatened, and when defending their own faces they are likely to
threaten other peoples faces in turn. In achieving smooth and successful
communication, the participants in an interaction should maintain each
others face.
There are two kinds of face wants. The first is called face threatening
act and the second is face saving act. Yule (1996) mentions that if a
speaker says something that represents a threat to another individuals
expectations regarding self-image, it is described as a face threatening act
(p. 61). When face is being threatened interaction, it comes under attack.
Brown and Levinson (as citeed in Thomas, 1995) also implies that face
threatening acts happen when certain utterances are likely to damage or
threaten another persons face. Yule (1996) mentions that a face saving act
happens when a speaker say something to lessen the possible threat.
METHODS
In gathering and processing the data for this analysis, the writer first
reads some episodes of Tintin and Asterix comic. Second, the writer

Attamimi , Analysis of Misunderstanding Caused by Different Interpretations

83

collects, selects and classifies the data, which are in the form of sentences
or phrases as the utterances of the conversations in those comic series
which cause misinterpretation. Third, the writer analyzes the data by
focusing on the misinterpretations which have been caused by the different
interpretations of speech act labels, and by observing the effects of those
misinterpretations on the participants. Finally, the writer composes a report
of the research.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
After doing the analysis of Tintin and Asterix comic series, the
writer finds out that there are some events of misunderstanding which are
based on the Taxonomy types involved. In this case, a speech act label of
one utterance which is conveyed by a speaker is differently interpreted by a
hearer.
From the thirty-two data that have been analyzed, the writer finds that
most of the data show that the misunderstandings happen because the
speaker and the hearer have different interpretations concerning the
taxonomy classification. There are thirteen data showing the
misunderstandings from Directive to Expressive types. For example, as
found in the dialog below:
Tintin
: Excuse me, if anyone finds a pipe under their
seat, could they please return it to this gentleman
at the end of the seminar.
Captain Haddock : Blistering barnacles! D you find it funny to
publicly humiliate me?
The data above shows the event when Captain Haddock and Tintin
attend a seminar about Health and Magnetism with Mystic brought by
Endaddine Akass, a famous spiritualist. In the middle of the seminar,
Captain Haddock loses his pipe. At that time, he is so busy looking for his
pipe that the other people present at the seminar feel annoyed owing to the
fact that he asks everyone who sits near him about his lost pipe.
Afterwards, Tintin tries to help Captain Haddock in finding his pipe by
announcing it in front of the audience so that he will get his pipe back.
In that case, as the speaker, Tintin actually intends to perform a face
saving act through the polite request (Directive) conveyed to the audience
of the seminar. Nevertheless, a misunderstanding occurs in this

84

VOLUME 13, NUMBER 1, JUNE 2011: 78-95

conversation. As the hearer, Captain Haddock misinterprets Tintins

utterance as a face threatening act as he interprets it as a humiliation
(Expressive). He feels humiliated and angry because he thinks that Tintin
has embarrassed him in front of that audience of the seminar. Captain
Haddock thinks that the fact about his lost pipe is not supposed to be
announced in front of the seminar audience because this is not something
important that everyone should know about.
In addition, there are also eleven data which show the
misunderstandings from Representative to Expressive types as shown in
one of the data below:
Detective Thompson: Captain, is what Tintin says really true? Hes
just told us youve decided not to go. It seems
you broke a mirror and afraid
Captain Haddock : Afraid? Me, afraid?... Afraid of what?... afraid
of whom?...
Afraid of you perhaps? Captain Haddock fears
nothing! You understand? We weigh anchor at
dawn tomorrow, no matter what anyone
says!...
The conversation shown above is part of the story when Tintin and
Captain Haddock are going to find some treasure belonging to a pirate
named Red Rackham. Red Rackham is killed long ago by Sir Francis
Haddock aboard a ship called the Unicorn. In this case, Captain Haddock
joins this treasure hunting owing to the fact that he is one of Sir Francis
Haddocks descendants.
In the data mentioned above, at first, Captain Haddock plans to join
Tintin in finding the Red Rackhams treasure by cruising on the sea. Then,
he cancels the plan for the simple reason that he feels uneasy after breaking
a mirror in a second hand shop which sells diving equipment. Captain
Haddock is afraid that something wrong may happen on the treasure
hunting; in addition, he feels that it is a bad sign.
On the day of the expedition, Detective Thompson, as the speaker,
intends to perform a face saving act by asking whether Captain Haddock
really cancels the plan. At that time, Detective Thompson just gives the
statement (Representative) that Captain Haddock seems afraid of cruising
on the sea.

Attamimi , Analysis of Misunderstanding Caused by Different Interpretations

85

In hearing Detective Thompsons statement, a misunderstanding

occurs. Captain Haddock, as the hearer, misinterprets the speakers
utterance as a face threatening act. He really feels offended because he
thinks that Detective Thompson has insulted him about his fear of cruising,
so that he replies Detective Thompsons utterances angrily. He
misinterprets Detective Thompsons utterance as an offence (Expressive).
In addition, he wants to prove that he still wants to go on finding the
treasure no matter what anyone says.
There are three data showing the misunderstanding from Expressive
to Directive types, and one data from Directive to Representative types.
One of the examples is shown below:
Julius Pompus
: What happened, O Crismus Bonus?
Centurion Crismus Bonus : I tripped over my beard, idiot!
The Gauls are famous for their magic potion made by a Druid named
Getafix. This magic potion can make the Gauls have extraordinary strength
so that they always win their fight with the Romans, who are always at war
with the Gauls as they always want to conquer the Gauls.
In this part of the story, Crismus Bonus wants to know about the
recipe of the Gauls magic potion in order to make the Romans have the
same extraordinary strength as the Gauls. Then, he orders some Roman
soldiers to kidnap Getafix, the magic potion maker. Getafix is strictly kept
at the Roman camp. He is also forced to make a cauldron of magic potion
for the Romans. If he does not follow the order, he will be killed.
The data above shows the event when Crimus Bonus is tripped over
by his own beard which grows rapidly. His beard grows very fast because
of the wrong magic potion he drinks. Druid Getafix makes the wrong
potion on purpose. The potion does not affect his strength, but it fastens the
growth of his beard. In that panicky situation, a Roman soldier named
Julius Pompus intends to show his sympathetic expression (Expressive)
through a question to Crismus Bonus. As the speaker, he intends to
perform a face saving act.
However, a misunderstanding appears when Crismus Bonus as the
hearer, interprets the speakers notion of face as a face threatening act. In
this case, Crismus Bonus interprets Julius utterance as only a question
(Directive). He thinks this is a silly question that does not need to be
answered as Julius has seen the incident himself. Therefore, he replies
Julius utterance rudely. Moreover, he is very annoyed and calls Julius

86

VOLUME 13, NUMBER 1, JUNE 2011: 78-95

Pompus an idiot because he thinks that Julius is supposed to know that he

is tripped over by his beard.
Noxious Vapus : Er Caesar it might save time to use some
other shield a nice new one. I happen to know
a little armourer who
Julius Caesar : Vade retro, Vapus! I shall have my triumph on
that Arvernian shield and none other! And dont
you try to deceive me! To deceive Caesar is to
deceive the Gods, and the anger of the Gods
would be terrible!
In this story, the Romans led by Julius Caesar fight against the
Avernians to conquer the Gaullish village. At that time, Julius defeats the
Avernians and the whole Gaul is officially occupied. Vircingetorix, the
leader of the Avernians, gives his weapons as the symbol of his defeat to
the Romans by throwing it to the leg of Julius Caesar. However, at that
moment, there is a Roman soldier who takes the weapons.
The data above shows the event when Noxious Vapus, a Roman
soldier who is sent by Julius Caesar to visit the Avernian village. In that
village, he is attacked by the Avernians. Afterwards, he goes back to Rome
to report the unpleasant occasion. Suddenly, Julius Caesar remembers the
weapons used as the symbol of defeat which is thrown at his feet when he
defeats the Avernians a long time ago.
On hearing the report from Noxious, Julius Caesar plans to revenge
the Avernians by finding the lost Vircingetorixs weapons and using them
to attack the Avernians. He asks Noxious to find those weapons. Being
lazy to find the same weapons, Noxious intends to make an excuse to
Caesar. He suggests that Julius Caesar should use other new weapons in
performing the revenge because it will waste their time only to find the lost
weapons. As the speaker, he intends to perform a face saving act through
his suggestion (Directive).
However, in hearing the suggestion, Julius feels that Noxious lies and
makes fun of him by making such excuses. He does not believe if the
weapons are missing for the simple reason that he is not that foolish to
deceive. As the hearer, Julius misinterprets Noxious utterance as a face
threatening act as he considers it a lie (Representative). In addition, he
insists that Noxious should find the lost weapons.
The number of speech act labels misinterpretation are summarized in
Table 1.

Attamimi , Analysis of Misunderstanding Caused by Different Interpretations

Table 1. The Number of Speech Act Labels Misinterpretation

Misunderstanding of speech act labels
Directive Expressive
polite request
humiliation
Suggestion
accusation
Suggestion
insult
Advice
insult
Question
order
Mockery
question
Warning
insult
Order
question
Question
accusation
Question
insult
Offer
humiliation
offer
insult
Representative Expressive
Truth
mockery
Statement
accusation
statement
offence
Statement
insult
Statement
mockery
joke
Statement
Fact
insult
Explanation
accusation
Report
acusation
Explanation
offence
Directive Directive
Question
order
Order
question
Expressive Directive
Mockery
question
sympathetic expression
question
Expressive Expressive
Praise
mockery
awed expression
insult
Directive Representative
Suggestion
lie

Total
1
1
3
1
1
2
2
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1

87

88

VOLUME 13, NUMBER 1, JUNE 2011: 78-95

CONCLUSION
Based on the discussion above, it is clear that most of the
misunderstandings happen because the speakers utterances are
misinterpreted as the Expressive type. In the writers opinion, this happens
due to the fact that the hearers in the conversations involve their feelings in
interpreting the speakers utterances so that they have various emotional
responses such as feeling angry, accused, offended, humiliated, insulted or
even happy for what the speakers have said.
Besides, the writer would also like to point out that there are some
data showing misunderstandings although they are still in the same
Taxonomy classification. In this case, the misunderstandings happen
because both of the speaker and hearer have different interpretations of
speech act labels. There are two data showing misunderstandings of this
kind in the Directive type. As mentioned in the analysis, the speakers
order is interpreted as a question by the hearer, and a question is interpreted
as an order. There are also two data showing this kind of misunderstanding
in the Expressive type. They are the speakers praise which is interpreted as
a mockery by the hearer, and the speakers awed expression which is
interpreted as an insult.
Those misunderstandings happen because, although the Taxonomy
classification is the same, each dialogue consists of different speech act
labels which reveal different messages and responses.
It is common that in our daily conversation the speaker and hearer
often misunderstand each other through the positive or negative impression
and meaning of an utterance. Sometimes, the positive impression intended
by the speaker is interpreted wrongly by the hearer. It depends on how the
speaker conveys the utterance and whether the language is used in the
appropriate context or not.
From the misunderstandings that have been discussed, there must be
some effects on the participants in the conversations. This is illustrated as
the notion of face. In the twenty-nine data of misunderstandings, the
effects show that the hearers interpret the speakers face saving act as face
threatening act. Meanwhile, only in the three data do the effects imply that
the hearers interpret the speakers face threatening act as face saving act.
Based on the analysis carried out, the misunderstandings in Tintin and
Asterix comic series tend to perform a face threatening act because most of
the hearers in the conversations feel embarrassed and threatened by the

Attamimi , Analysis of Misunderstanding Caused by Different Interpretations

89

speakers utterances. Most of them interpret the speakers utterances

negatively.
In these comic series, we often find the funny scenes caused by some
factors. In this case, misunderstanding becomes one of the influencing
factors because the reader will be amusingly entertained by noticing that
there is something wrong yet funny in the conversations. Those
conversations usually will lead the readers to a different perception of what
has been said by the speaker and what has been understood by the hearer.
Besides, there are also other elements causing the funny scenes which
support the misunderstanding events both in Tintin and Asterix comic
series. In these comic series, the misunderstanding is strongly supported by
the stereotypical and unique characters appearing in the story. For example,
the misunderstandings often happen through the characterization of
Captain Haddock, who is almost always bad-tempered and stubborn, and
the twin detectives Thomson and Thompson, who are always clumsy and
careless. In Asterix, the character of Obelix is described as a rather stupid,
sensitive and clumsy person, Asterix, is described as a smart and serious
character. Usually, the misunderstandings happen between the opposing
characters. Every character in these comic series has his or her own
specialty which is very dominant so he or she is often involved in the
events of misunderstanding.
As a closing remark, the writer would like to say that some comic
series, especially Tintin and Asterix are not only entertaining us through
their comedy situation, but they also have many elements which are worth
being analyzed through linguistic area.
REFERENCES
Al-Marrani, Y. M. A. (2010). Polite request strategies by male speakers of Yemeni
Arabic in male-male interaction and male-female interaction. The
International Journal of Language Society and Culture, 63. Retrieved May
2, 2011, from http://www.pdfssearch.com/Polite-Request-Strategies-byMale-Speakers-of-Yemeni-Arabic-in-...
Brown, P., & Levinson, S. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language.
Cambridge University Press.
Grundy, P. (2000). Doing pragmatics. London: Arnold.

VOLUME 13, NUMBER 1, JUNE 2011: 78-95

90

Kusumarasdyati. (2005). Verbal offer used by snack vendors in Malang. k@ta,

7(1), 14.
Leech, G. (1991). Principles of pragmatics. London and New York: Longman.
Levinson, S. (1995). Pragmatics. Cambridge University Press.
Mey, J. L. (2001). Pragmatics: An introduction. United States of America and
United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing.
Schiffrin, D. (1994). Approaches to discourse. Blackwell Publishers.
Sukarno. (2010). The reflection of the Javanese cultural concepts in the politeness
of Javanese. k@ta, 12(1), 59.
Thomas, J. (1995). Meaning in interaction. London and New York: Longman.
Trosborg, A. (1995). Interlanguage pragmatics: Requests, complaints and
apologies. Berlin and New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
Tupan, A. H., & Natalia, H. (2008). The multiple violations of conversational
maxims in lying done by the characters in some episodes of Desperate
Housewives. k@ta, 10,(1), 63.
Yule, G. (1996). Pragmatics. Oxford University Press.

APPENDIX
Dialogue of Misunderstanding
Tintin Comic Series
1. Tintin

Captain Haddock

2. Tintin

Professor Decimus :
Tintin
:
Professor Decimus :

Excuse me, if anyone finds a pipe under their seat,

could they please return it to this gentleman at the end
of the seminar.
Blistering barnacles! D you find it funny to publicly
humiliate me?
And its hairy legs!... it makes me shiver to think of
them!
Its legs?... What legs?
What legs?... Why, belonging to that gigantic
spider
Spider?... is this your idea of a joke, young man?

Attamimi , Analysis of Misunderstanding Caused by Different Interpretations

3. Tintin

Professor Decimus :

4. Philippulus

Tintin

Philippulus

5. Captain Haddock
Mike

6. Captain Haddock

Mike

7. Irma

:
:

But its impossible you I mean Perhaps you

made a mistake in your calculations.
Made a mistake? Us? You presume to? Very
well! Check them!
I am Philippulus the prophet! I proclaim the day of
terror!... the end of the world is high! All men will
perish!... and the survivors will die of hunger and
cold!... There will be pestilence, and famine, and
measles!
Look here Mr. Prophet, why dont you go home?
Youd better off in bed!...
You hear that? He dares to set himself up against
Philippulus the prophet an advocate of the devil!
a son of satan!... a tool of beelzebub! Get back to
satan, your master!
Er it might be as well, for a clear conscience, to let
a doctor have a look at her.
A doctor! I suppose you think we have money to pay
for a doctor!

Well, goodbye, and take care of that little cherub. But

if you take my advice, youll camp somewhere else,
and not on this rubbish-dump in the first place, its
unhealthy
: Dyou think were here because we like it? D you
imagine we enjoy living surrounded by filth?

Lady Castafiore

8. Lady Castafiore

Captain Haddock

Lady Castafiore

9. Tintin

91

Excuse me, madame, have you seen my embroidery

scissors you know, the little gold ones
Why should I have seen them, girl? Its not my job to
look after your things.
Have you seen the marvelous article about me in
Paris- Flash
Yes, I have seen it, madam!... you call it
marvelous?... Announcing our marriage!...
Oh, yes, priceless, isnt it?

: Here, your hats!... and mind the cables!

92

VOLUME 13, NUMBER 1, JUNE 2011: 78-95

Detective Thomson :

Thank you, we can manage weve told you

before: were not children!

10. Professor Calculus :

Ah, dear lady. Its quite extraordinary; I just found

this magazine on the floor and guess whose
charming likeness adorns the cover... look!
I know, Professor Candyfloss! I know!... and kindly
refrain from calling it a likeness!!

Lady Castafiore

11. Detective Thomson :

Captain Haddock

12. Detective Thompson :

Captain Haddock

In a nutshell if the theft was committed by

someone in the house, then there are only six
suspects: Irma, Wagner, Nestor, Tintin, and of course
you yourself, captain.
Are you suggesting!?
Captain, is what Tintin says really true? Hes just
told us youve decided not to go. It seems you broke a
mirror and afraid
Afraid? Me, afraid?... Afraid of what?... afraid of
whom?... Afraid of you perhaps? Captain Haddock
fears nothing! You understand? We weigh anchor at
dawn tomorrow, no matter what anyone says!...

13. Detective Thomson :

Captain Haddock :
Detective Thomson :

Oh?... but you are sure were near it?

Positive! I plotted the position yesterday at noon.
Yes, I see. But er supposing you made a mistake
in your calculations

14. Captain Haddock

Captain Haddock

Oh, so I made a mistake in my calculations, did I?...

All right: theyre on my table. Go and check them!...
Yes, you!
Now! Go on! Check them!
Thundering typhoons! What are you two doing
there, instead of pumping?
Us? We re resting its tiring work, you know.
You infernal impersonations of Abdominable
Snowmen! Pump for your lives!... Faster!

Detective Thompson :
Captain Haddock :

15. Professor Calculus :

I have been very ably supported by my engineer,

Frank Wolff. You met him earlier. And Im just

Attamimi , Analysis of Misunderstanding Caused by Different Interpretations

Captain Haddock

Professor Calculus

93

completing plans For a nuclear-powered rocket in

which I propose to land on the moon
Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!... the moon!... Old Calculus on the
moon! Ha! ha! Ha! The things you think of!... the
moon!... thats a good one!... ha! Ha! Ha!... the
moon!... as easy as pie!... a man on the moon!... youll
be the man in the moon!... ha!
Ha! Ha! Oh! Ho! Ho!... I havent laughed so much for
years!... on the moon!... and hes quite serious about
it!... you old humbug, Calculus! Heres to you!... ha!
Ha! Ha!
Passengers for the moon, all aboard the bus!... Sorry,
the rocket!... you are taking passengers, I hope?
Of course!... why else do you think I asked you to
join me?...

16. Detective Thompson :

Detective Thomson :
17. Captain Haddock :
Mr. Baxter
:

All the same, be careful.

Im not a child, am I?
Have you seen my pipe?
Your pipe? What would I want with your pipe?...
Im sorry but I havent time to worry about your pipe
now!

18. Professor Calculus :

My poor friend! Didnt you notice the door was

rather low?
Dyou think I did it on purpose?... I suppose you
think my favorite pastime is cracking my head against
doors? Well, Ive had enough of being a playmate for
neurotic mice!

Captain Haddock

19. Detective Thomson :

Captain Haddock

20. Captain Haddock

Frank Wolff

Well, youre very wise not to go on such a wild

goose chase!... Its a ridiculous idea!... Besides, at
your age it would be sheer madness!
What? At my age?!... I suppose you take me for a
rusty old tub, ready for the scrapheap?... youll see
how old I am, you Bashibazouks!... Im going, dyou
hear?... and Ill send you a postcard from the moon!
Thundering typhoons! Why does this cork have to be
so stubborn?
Would you like me to try, captain?

VOLUME 13, NUMBER 1, JUNE 2011: 78-95

94

Captain Haddock

Frank Wolff

21. Captain Haddock

Tintin

:
:

Captain Haddock

22. Detective Thomson :

A man

Detective Thomson :

Are you proposing to teach me how to open a bottle

of champagne?
But
Good heavens, what a leap!
Ha! Ha! Ha! You see, captain! On the Moon, gravity
is actually six times less than on the earth.
And I knew that all the time, thundering typhoons!...
but Id completely forgotten.
Now dont try any funny business with us, my
friend come on, whats your name?
I lets see its really very odd, but I I cant
remember!...
For the last time, my man, dont try any funny
business with us whats your name?
Asterix Comic Series

23. Julius Pompus

: What happened, O Crismus Bonus?
Centurion Crismus Bonus: I tripped over my beard, idiot!
24. Huevos Y Bacon
Vitalstatistix

:
:

What a big nose you have!

Humph! Take him away! Well go on this
conversation after my afternoon nap!

25. Asterix
Pub owner

:
:

Thats wine all right

Goodness gracious! Of course its wine! Its
perfectly safe todrink it!

26. Caius Fatuous

Obelix
Caius Fatuous

:
:

Just taste these pasties! Theyre a new recipe they

cost a fortune! Nightingales tongues imported from
the north of Gaul, sturgeons eggs from the farthest
barbarian lands, cockroaches from Mongolia well,
what do you think of them?
Salty
Salty! huh! These barbarians dont appreciate good
food! Bring me the giblet jam!

27. Psychoanaltyx
Asterix

:
:

What happened to him? Some sort of a shock?

Yes, it was a menhir got him down

Attamimi , Analysis of Misunderstanding Caused by Different Interpretations

Obelix

28. Fulliautomatix

I dont think it was that at all. You always make out

it was my fault. Youre not going to tell me that little
tap with a

The Romans have got the magic potion! We saw

them!
Thats ridiculous! How could they have managed to
find out the secret?
Weve been seeing a lot of Romans around the
village lately.
Are you accusing me of giving the Romans secret of
the magic potion?

Asterix

Fulliautomatix

Asterix

29. Impedimenta
Homeophatix

:
:

Vitalstatistix

30. Julius Caesar

Noxious Vapus

Julius Caesar

31. Geriartrix
Caius Preposterus

:
:

Geriartrix

95

Oh, Tapioca, how wonderful!

Of course, it must be a bit of a change from the stuff
you get to eat at home!
And whats wrong with what we get to eat at
home?
Well, my dear Vapus, youll just have to go back to
Gaul and look for the shield Vercingetorix threw at
my feet
Er Caesar it might save time to use some other
shield a nice new one. I happen to know a little
armourer who
Vade retro, Vapus! I shall have my triumph on that
Arvernian shield and none other! And dont you try to
deceive me! To deceive Caesar is to deceive the
Gods, and the anger of the Gods would be terrible!

Youre buying menhirs here, right?

Yes, indeed! Let us help you unload them, venerable
old gentleman
: Old? Ill show you if Im old, Roman!

32. Asterix

Obelix

We can move freely without the cart but youd

better give me the bag. The poor horse cant carry its
weight as well as yours
My weight? What about my weight?