hi everyone. i'm not sure if this is the place to post this or not. anyway, i recently submitted my 26th quiz (Asterix: La Serpe d'Or) and it got returned. the editor said that because the quiz was about a comic book (asterix), it should not contain quotes in french. but as i write in the intro, it is about the FRENCH edition of the album. the original, that is; asterix is a french creation. i actually wanted this quiz to have that extra edge; direct french quotes, to show this is a quiz on the original material. i don't really want to translate the quotes. so, in sum, i don't know where to place this quiz; it's not entirely in french, but it refers to french material.

anyway, thanks for any help in advance. .

Hello there ensiform. I have looked at your quiz, and agree with your editor's decision. At this point, this site is for quizzes written in English only. Although, as you say, you indicate that that players must be able to read French to play the quiz, you communicate that to them IN FRENCH. The obvious consequence is that a player who cannot read French will not understand this warning.

You say you don't want to translate the few French portions of your quiz, but I cannot understand why. You obviously can speak both languages, and this would be a relatively easy task. This is the only way in which your quiz will be approved for an exclusively English site. I think any editor would agree to have the French phrases included, as long as their English counterparts were as well. I could do the translation for you myself, but I hesitate to make the gesture if you are not willing to.

As for the appropriate place in which to discuss this problem, I feel the best approach would have been to respond to the editor who rejected your quiz. It probably would have been better form (pardon my pun) to give her a chance to explain these reasons before airing your concerns publically. That is merely my opinion, however.

There are a few other details that need to be adjusted in your quiz, which I will communicate to you in a private note.

Thanks.

This matter of foreign words first arose back in September 2000 when QL was in its infancy and (apart from the Languages sub-category of World) they are only allowed in the limited circumstances specified in this thread, which concerned an opera by Wagner.

Thank you Magpie and Gtho for explaining why I sent it back.

thnaks for the input, everyone. i'm sorry i didn't take this up with the original editor; it wasn't meant as any sort of slight at all. i just thought that the more input on this issue, the better. i do understand now that there seems to have been some sort of executive decision regarding dual-language quizzes, and i of course will respect it.

Thanks for the terrific attitude ensiform. As I indicated, I see no reason we can't get your quiz online. It is a very good quiz, with a lot of interesting information. I feel it just needs a couple of minor changes so that everyone can enjoy it. Please send it back to the queue, and we will try to get it online. Cheers.

well, i have done made the changes, hopefully to everyone's satisfaction. i do try to be a good FT contributor.

to answer yr question, magpie, about why i didn't want to translate in the first place... i guess i was just in academia mode. (i spent more than my share of time in the ivory tower; i'm glad i left. anyway.) in academic circles, dual language papers and such are the norm. if you quote something from another language, you use the original source, period. i guess i just thought that here in a forum where you have quizzes on everything from swedish to chinese to TV episodes and minutae from history (not to mention a lot of canadians), a dual language quiz would find a sizeable enough audience.

but, justifications aside, as i said, i understand that this is a matter of policy, so that's that. can't blame a guy for trying, though. well, a bientot.

Hi, I tried to suggest you submit it to me in French yesterday and our server had slowed down at that time and the message wouldn't post.
As I probably have the original of that album at home here in France, I think it would get play in French more than in comics.
As you know, bandes dessinées aren't the same thing as comics though there are some crossovers. Bandes dessinées in France are the cultural alternative to what you have to read in school but they are quite complex.
I love to see parents fighting them and yet they read them themselves! I don't fight it. I go with the flow.

I had the same problem placing my French traditional songs quiz, still haven't done it as it's best as a language quiz yet it's got the historical background of the songs as well, might be better in the French songs or music history section. Fortunately I happen to know the editors of those sections personally...ooops, that would be me.
As the music quiz is in French for the most part, I'd get more play in the French section than anywhere else.

My French cuisine terms are in International foods yet they'd probably be just as good in French.

If you do have more quizzes for French or World languages, you're welcome to submit them to me there if you're uncertain.

By the way, as to the academic mode, when you submit a text for a larger audience, you often have to translate it entirely. I know from personal experience, unfortunately.