Frequently asked questions (F.A.Q.)

 

Q: Why is translating into Japanese so tricky?

A: Translating documents into Japanese takes more time and expertise than translating documents between Western languages. This is because, in particular, of the differences in the grammatical structure, in the way of stating ideas and in the degree of details required. This explains, not entirely but partially, why, in Japan, this apparently alleviating activity (translation) constitutes a disproportionate stake with the eyes of the Westerners. (For comparison, written Chinese can be assimilated almost to a Western language, because it is as such a kind of Tour of Babel, a "vehicular" language, and, for this reason, literal translation, word-by-word, from Western languages works, which is never the case for Japanese.) Consequently, at equal quality, a translation into Japanese costs considerably more than translations between Western languages. Unfortunately, many people ("translation agencies" in the first place) are ignorant of this fact. Generally, a company tries to get a Japanese translation of a document by paying the same order of price as it is accustomed to paying for Western languages. Under these conditions, quality will be naturally largely below what it usually obtains for Western languages. Moreover, these companies do not have the possibility of judging themselves the level of the work carried out in Japanese. Consequences: the document will be printed as it is; the Japanese subsidiary or agent quite naturally does not want to use such a publication, but does not say anything on the bad quality of the thing (it's too late to quarrel about it...); the head office does not understand why the publication produced with large expenses was not used in Japan; a project launched for a better communication turns sour and worsens the reciprocal incomprehension. The only remedy to prevent such a vicious circle would consist in recognizing obviousness: translating into Japanese costs considerably more than translating between two Western languages.

Q: Japanese is not the only language that is very different from Western languages, though.

A: You are right. Arboriginal languages are all very different from Western languages, in grammatical structure and writing. These languages have been keeping successfully their original "vernacular" characteristics until now. But these languages don't have the economic importance comparable to Japanese. Japanese, the official language of the World's second economic power and spoken by the population of 130 millions, is unconditionally the only language that is fundamentally different from Western languages and used worldwide in economic activities. Which reserves it an unique place.

Q: So, is it enough to pay much?

A: It is not so simple. It is true that one cannot hope for an excellent quality with a supplier who asks only little. Paying a full price, however, does not guarantee you to secure an irreproachable quality, even not an acceptable quality. The only solution consistes of finding yourself a good translator (there are only a few). He will make an inestimable capital for you. And the visitor of my web site is already on the right track. To know why, see below.

Q: Why is YOSHIO KOGANEI, Japanese translator, the best choice to make the Japanese edition of our press releases, catalogues and booklets?

A: I could mention the following reasons:

• I carry out the Japanese translation of the highest level not only on a European scale, but also on a worldwide scale.
• My translations are rapidely approved by the customer's Japanese subsidiary or agent, because their quality is that evident.
• I carry out Japanese page-settings of the highest level not only on a European scale, but also on a worldwide scale.
• I guarantee the absolute secrecy to my customers.
• Considering the high quality, my pricing is very reasonable, because I work in an efficient way and, important detail, I do it myself.
• YOSHIO KOGANEI, Japanese translator, who always brilliantly carries out personally the whole job (from translation until page layout), is your direct and courteous contact person, speaking perfectly English, French and, of course, Japanese. He knows what he is talking about, because he does whole the job himself. Ask him everything. No need of middle-men/ go-betweens/ brokers who take 75% of what the customer pays. Because the quality speaks for itself, no need of any decorative certification, either (what a pity for those who are under the necessity of showing off one on their website).
• Hence, also, a short delivery time.
• My presence in this business prevents any alien and cross-border entities from monopolizing the Swiss translation market, contributing to the survival and independence of Swiss industry, in particuler, Swiss watch industry. Therefore, it is not accidental that the best watch brands remain my loyal customers (refer to chapter "Works").
• My activity is lawful. Bad quality is very often linked to unlawful nature of labor relations. I will go even further. There is a dirty reality that certain translation agencies try to cover-up: their business model is essentially based on illegal labor relations ("Moonlighting", among others). They exploite illegal individuals, unlawfully. A business model fragile and unethical up to this point is not viable.

Q: I hired a translation agency or a "self-employed translator" for a translation, a page layout, or any other job. Am I entitled to require informations about the person who will really do this job?

A: Absolutely, it is your fundamental right. You even must require informations about the translator, before placing your order, in order to keep your company away from unlawful situations, for your own protection. Request his/her name, fiscal address, nationality, stay and work permit category, and professional status: either 1. employee of this translation agency, or 2. self-employed. As for the last point (the professional status), note that there is no other lawful status than 1. and 2.

1. If the translator is an employee of this translation agency, request a certificate of his/her affiliation to social security (AVS-AHV) as employee of this same translation agency.
2. If the translator is a self-employed, request a certificate of his/her affiliation as self-employed to social security (AVS-AHV), his/her VAT contributor's number, and, if he/she is domiciled in France, request also his/her "Siret" identification number of 14 digits.

They are just the minimum of informations. Any suppliers have legal obligation to give you all of these informations in writing. In case of refusal, you can report the case to the competent authorities.

Q: Why do certain translation agencies claim that their job is a "collective work" of several people without name nor face (pretended "quality management"), whereas we clearly know that the best translation is fulfilled by one qualified translator from end to end?

A: Perhaps they have something to hide about the identity of their "translators", if not about the illegality of them. It means also that these translation agencies do not consider the translation work as a creative activity. Which says a lot about their products' quality...

Q: Well, I acknowledge that some or even many "translators/interpreters" are illegal workers. But if these individuals do not offer their service directly to us but through a translation agency, we, the end customer, must not run any risk. Isn't a translation agency there to "launder dirty job" of illegal workers for us?

A: I appreciate your frankness. Alas, you remain responsible of their situation, because you are the economical beneficiary of their service. Such a translation agency is breaking the law and you are dealing with a supplier that is breaking the law. Period. Often the customer knows nothing about these ghost workers, but it's just a poor excuse (see the previous question). In Switzerland, only Federal social security administration (AVS-AHV) is entitled to grant to an individual, on a case-by-case basis, the status of self-employed. Then, and only then, this individual will be duly registered as a self-employed income tax, VAT, and social security contribution payer. Until then, this individual has no way to declare his/her income. Neither to the tax authorities, nor to the social security. He/she is "illegal". Consequently, any person who works on his/her own without this self-employed status violates both the tax laws (including VAT-related laws) and the social security laws. On the other side, any employer, including your translation agency, who gives a self-employed job to a person without the self-employed status violates a series of laws including the anti-illegal work law, or LTN (loi sur le travail au noir), in effect since January 2008 in Switzerland, and may be exposed to criminal sanctions. The whole mess, so to speak. And this is true in all civilized countries, including France. The problem of illegal work does exist in this sector. Such kind of offenders make lose a huge amount of money to the Society and the Nation, to the detriment of those who work and pay tax honestly. How could you count on individuals you don't even know who and where they are, and if they are lawful? How could you be sure that these illegal workers, that you even don't know, refrain from selling off your business secrets in order to make ends meet? Where is the famous "Swiss quality", "Made in Switzerland" in all this? Your corporate credibility? Corporate social responsibility (CSR)? Illegality is never sustainable and always ends up uncovered. Didn't a certain large bank learn it at its own expense, and that of the whole country? Doesn't the customer run enormous risk by choosing to depend upon such individuals? See below.

Q: All right. But translation/interpretation, it's only a small job. We are a banana republic. The authorities can close their eyes, huh?

A: That is apparently not the Swiss federal government's opinion. Have a look at their brand-new official website, if you understand French or German. There are illegal workers in all industries. But in the field of translation/interpretation, the situation is without doubt worse than elsewhere. Because many of translators/interpreters, even among those showcasing themselves somewhat "officially", are in fact illegal workers. Which does not do honor to the profession. Certain translation agencies are openly breaking the law by hiring obscure individuals recruited via free, anonymous web forums. Do they ignore that illegality is no longer fashionable today? Where is the difference between catering, hotel, construction and translation/interpretation jobs? Although industry scale is less important, the wage level is higher than elsewhere. There is no excuse for tolerating such an unlawful situation.

Q: You talked about France. Why?

A: Just as an example of civilized countries. In France, translators/interpreters must be registered by URSSAF (French social security office), as all self-employed workers, and must be holder of the above mentioned "Siret" identification number. Those who are not are illegal workers who pay neither taxes nor social security contributions.

Q: And what is your professional status in Switzerland?

A: Accredited translator on oath (sworn translator) and experienced interpreter, I am a permanent resident in Switzerland, and am affiliated to Swiss social security system as a self-employed. I am also subjected to the VAT as a self-employed. Needless to say, the status of self-employed constitutes one of the essential conditions to be authorized to carry on the activity of translator on oath (Règlement relatif aux traducteurs-jurés I 2 46.03, Art. 2-1- c), Art 13-1 and 2).

Q: There are some Japanese "tourists" coming to work in Switzerland occasionally (during trade fairs, etc.). Do you mean that they are illegal?

A: Except contrary evidence, if they are without necessary authorization, they violate at least Swiss federal law of 16 December 2005 on foreigners (AuG-LEtr), Swiss commercial laws, Swiss tax laws, and Swiss social security laws.

Federal law of 16 December 2005 on foreigners (AuG-LEtr)

Art. 11 Authorization of stay with gainful activity

Any foreigner who intends to practice a gainful activity in Switzerland must be entitled to an authorization, regardless of the duration of his/her stay. He/She must apply for it to the competent authority of his/her envisaged place of work.

Art. 12 Obligation to declare his/her arrival

Any foreigner required to obtain a short-term, medium-term or long-term authorization of stay must report his/her arrival to the competent authority of his/her place of stay or work in Switzerland before the end of the stay not subject to authorization, or before the start of the gainful activity.

The offenders (employers and employees) may be exposed to criminal sanctions, including imprisonment upto one year. In addition, these individuals violate often Japanese tax laws. Consequently, these individuals are now enormous risk factors for the client company.

Q: In short?

A: In short, contrary to certain illegal and anonymous "translators/interpreters", as well as certain translation agencies that exploit them, I practice my business in perfect legality and my customers can feel secure about that.

Q: Your website is very fast. How did you do?

A: Nothing special. This site is fully "W3C invalid" (and is proud of it). Cascading style sheet (css), javascript and other stupidities are banned here. "Tables" are not used, either (except in the chapiter "Contacts"). This site is simply constructed with good old "frames" deprecated hysterically by so-called "S.E.O. professionals" without imagination. My point is to display the same graphical, flexible and visually pleasing contents on any browser, whichever the version, as simply as possible, namely, in respect of environment. And it works. As usual.