One of the challenges of conducting business in Japan is trying to overcome the language barrier. Japan is a very lucrative market. However, not knowing the Japanese language can be a big obstacle. That is why the demand for accurate Japanese translations is very high.

Spoken by more than 130 million people, Japanese is a member of the Japonic languages family. Japanese uses four distinct types of scripts- hiragana, kanji, katakana and romanji. Hiragana is the most original writing system in Japan. Generally it is used for simple words, and conjugations.

In children's literature, the Hiragana system of writing is used as it is the most basic which is taught in schools. On the other hand, Kanji is based on the Chinese writing system. It was adopted from Chinese in the 6th century AD and comprises more than 2000 signs. Katakana is used to write foreign words only. And Romanji is nowadays quite often used in modern Japanese especially for company names, logos, and for advertising purposes.

In Japanese, there are four different ways of addressing people. These are kun, chan, sama and san. These are called honorific suffixes which are used for addressing or referring to people.

Kun

Kun is used by people when addressing someone younger than them. Generally it is used to address male children or male teenagers. It can also be used by females to address males they are emotionally attached to. In businesses, young females too can be addressed as 'kun' by older males of senior status.

Chan

Chan is used to address babies, young children, and teenagers. Addressing someone senior with 'chan' is unacceptable and considered rude.

San

San is used as a title of respect which is added to a name such as "Mr.", "Miss", or "Mrs." It can be used for both male and female names, and also for names of occupations and titles. For instance, Miss. Yoko will be written as 'Yoko-san', and someone such as a doctor or lawyer will be called 'oisha-san' and 'bengoshi-san' in Japanese.

Sama

Sama is considered to be the more respectful version of san. It is used for people whom we admire and look up to. It can also be used to address customers when writing business mails and postal letters.

Using the appropriate honorific suffix is very important in Japanese translations and this can be achieved only by experts who understand the intricate workings of the Japanese language and culture. To obtain best results you should carefully search for a qualified translation company, whether you might be looking for an Edmonton translation services provider or an Ottawa translation agency. Your translation company should have a good record of providing accurate Japanese translations.

As far as vocabulary is concerned, females and males use different vocabulary. Besides in Japanese there is no distinction between singular and plural. There are no relative pronouns and verbs are always placed at the end of a sentence.

Japanese is very different from European languages. Therefore make sure you use the services of a reliable translation company, be it an Ottawa translation agency or Edmonton translation services provider, which is renowned for producing quality translation work within tight deadlines.