Tintin and The Picaros - Wordplay

Wordplay

As in The Broken Ear, the original French text of Tintin and the Picaros features an invented language for the Arumbaya Indians that is based on Marols, the Brussels dialect spoken by Hergé's grandmother. The English translation replaces this with a language that is a phonetic rendering of Cockney English. When offering food, Chief Avakuki ("'ave a cookie") says "Owzah g'rubai" ("'Ow's the grub, eh?"), "Oozfah sek 'unds" (who's for seconds), "Ava'n ip" ('Ave a nip) and "goh blimeh! Wa'samma ta, li li li va? Lem eshoya!" ("Cor blimey! What's the matter, lily liver? Let me show ya!") Similarly the ancient pyramid featured on the front cover is called Hotwattabotl in the translation (hot water bottle).