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Alph-Art: Is there a play on the words "Ramona" and "Hergé"?

Levent
Member
#1 · Posted: 17 Apr 2007 11:14
I think that there is a word game in the Alph-Art adventure.
Several characters in this album are also shown in The Red Sea Sharks).
There is a cargo ship named Ramona in The Red Sea Sharks and there is an artist named Ramo Nash in Alph-Art.

You know that in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey the name of computer is HAL, which represents IBM?

Like this (IBM to HAL), if you convert the last two letters S and H, they will be R and G, so Ramo Nash can be read as Ramona RG, the last two letters of which are the sign of Georges Remi.
But, if there was a word game, I could not link cargo ship Ramona and Hergé at all.
jock123
Moderator
#2 · Posted: 19 Apr 2007 22:25
Levent
I could not link cargo ship Ramona and Hergé
So if there isn't a connection, what would be the purpose?
It seems like pure coincidence to me - which, by the way, Arthur C. Clarke has always maintained about the HAL/ IBM thing in 2001, denying any intentional substitution.

The theory is that the initials of IBM were replaced by Sir Arthur, substituting the letter which comes before each in the alphabet (i-b-m -> h-a-l) to symbolize that HAL was "one better than IBM".

When presented with this "fact", Sir Arthur was quick to point out that that would also allow the interpretation that IBM was a computer "one ahead of HAL", or "HAL is less advanced than IBM", so the substitution wouldn't actually be a good one anyway.

You might want to look in the recent edition of Alph-art as I recall that there was a list of alternate names for the character on one of the pages of notes - there might be further material for you there which could decide things one way or the other.
Levent
Member
#3 · Posted: 30 Apr 2007 13:44
So if there isn't a connection, what would be the purpose?

Perhaps a member can find a link about this subject, this the purpose. You know the meaning of "forum" word.
jock123
Moderator
#4 · Posted: 30 Apr 2007 18:08
Levent
Perhaps a member can find a link about this subject, this the purpose.

Sorry, I wasn't asking what the purpose of you making the post was, I was asking what would Hergé's purpose be for such a word game? Establishing a purpose for the link would be corroboration for your thesis.

I can't rule such a link out (although I doubt that there is one, personally), which is why I offered you the suggestion that looking at the updated Alph-Art might actually help you uncover further evidence.

You know the meaning of "forum" word.
Quite so, which is why I was contributing my own opinion; the question that I then posed arose from trying to make some sense out of your proposal, and you are free to answer it, ignore it or leave it open to others to come up with a reason, as you choose!

A bit more digging has brought up that Hergé considered different ways of writing the names, perhaps reflecting different nationalities: Ramo and Ramó were both considered, and the surname Hasj, Nasj, Nhaasj, Nasjch, Hasch, Nach, Asg, Aje; there was also (and I am not kidding), an Irish possibility, Ram O'Nash.

Which ever way it was going to be spelled, and whatever the character's background, the intention seems to have been to reference the Flemish/ Dutch word "rammenas", the black- or winter-radish, keepeing up Hergé's enthusiasm for giving characters food-based names (e.g. Boustringovitch and Wirchwloff).
So the word-play is there, but not really pointing to Red Sea Sharks and the Ramona, as far as can be seen.

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