确认

[Pedroski]

男：请问，我们将参展表格发传真给您就是最后确认了吧？

女：您还要将全部展位费汇到单位那里。

男：好的，我们再考虑一下。

 

If I look up '确认‘ I find 'confirm, verify, comfirmation', but that doesn't fit well.

 

I'd like to translate this:

 

我们将参展表格发传真给您就是最后确认了吧？

 

If we fax the exhibition attendance form to you, is this the last step (最后确认)? Which means '确认‘ = ’step‘.

 

Would you agree?

[aone]

If we fax the exhibition attendance form to you, is this the final confirmation(最终确认/最后确认)?

[陳德聰]

As aone points out, "final confirmation" does indeed fit.

The situation looks to be someone wanting to get a booth at a (trade?) show of some sort, and they're asking if faxing the application form is the same as confirmation of attendance. The woman replies that no, it is not taken as confirmation of attendance, as they need payment in full in order to constitute confirmation.

[Pedroski]

请问，我们将参展表格发传真给您就是最后确认了吧？

 

I'd like to ask, if we fax you the exhibition attendance form, is that all we need to do?

[JayXZ]

"Is faxing the exhibition attendance form to you considered as the confirmation?"

[Pedroski]

Thanks, but  that sentence sounds a bit lumpy to me. Also, I don't like  the use of 'the confirmation' without a descriptive element.  I would use 'considered as (final) confirmation of attendance'. 

 

Imron told me a few times, I should get away from a one to one fixation, so I'd prefer my previous post.

[abcdefg]

I use 确认 when I call a hotel to confirm a reservation that I've made on line. I also use it when calling someone to confirm an appointment for 2 p.m. this afternoon before traveling across town just to find out it was really tomorrow.

[imron]

Presumably the conversation has some context prior to the first sentence written here, in which case it would be clear that confirmation is confirmation of attendance.

 

Lacking that context, I would agree that it's better to mention something like 'confirmation of attendance'.

 

"Is that all we need to do?" is also too ambiguous - all you need to do for what?  Apply for attendance?  Yes that's all you need to do to apply.  Oh, you mean all you need to do to confirm attendance, well no, in that case you also need to send the full attendance fee.

 

No point leaving room for misunderstandings.

 

A: Does faxing through the attendance form serve as confirmation of attendance?

B: No, you also need to send through full payment.

A: Ok, thanks, we'll think it over.

[aone]

It is the original Chinese that is lumpy - 请问，我们将参展表格发传真给您就是最后确认了吧？

Let me try to make it shorter - 我把参展表格传真给你就可以了吧？or 把表回传给你就可以了吧？

 

The two persons are talking on phone, to save each other's time, no need to show too much courtesy

[imron]

就可以了吧

This has the same problem above in that it is ambiguous.  可以 for what?

[Pedroski]

可以 = 就好了吗？

[aone]

From this short dialogue, we can conclude that the man and the woman had already talked about the details of attendance, so 把表回传给你就可以了吧？if we fax you the exhibition attendance form, is that all we need to do?

[Pedroski]

You couldn't, by any chance, fax me a few cans of that Tsing Dao beer? I like the green cans with the gold top, Augerta 1903!

 

I still can't figure out how we get 'if' from the Chinese sentence, but it seems to fit. That means ‘发’ is a conditional.

[aone]

就可以了吗 = 就好了吗

 

Pedroski，you like Tsingtao Beer?  I'd like to buy you a drink if you have the chance to come here, you have my words.

[Pedroski]

Augerta 1903 is the best beer in China! I believe August is the time to visit 青岛. 啤酒会时！

 

How do we get 'if' from my Chinese sentence??

[aone]

Yes, August is the right time to visit 青岛啤酒节！

 

How do we get 'if' from my Chinese sentence??  -  sorry, don't understand this, 
 

[Pedroski]

There is no 'if' in '请问，我们将参展表格发传真给您就是最后确认了吧？'but in the translation, we need an 'if'. How does this come out of the Chinese. 

[imron]

可以 = 就好了吗？

Is what 好?

 

As I said earlier, the problem with this is that the thing that is ok is not explicitly mentioned.  This can lead to a misunderstanding where the first person asks "is A ok?", and the second person interprets that as "is B ok?", and so person 2 says yes, and therefore Person 1 thinks they said yes to A, when in fact they were saying yes to B.

 

Imagine for example a conference where you first apply, and then at some later date (possibly months away) make final payment.

 

Person A wants to attend this conference and is speaking to Person B about attending (nothing about final confirmation has come up in the discussion yet), and now wants to know what they need to do to make sure their attendance will be confirmed and asks:

 

If I fax the form through is that all we need to do?

 

With "all we need to do" meaning all we need to do to confirm attendance.

 

Person B thinks he is talking not about final confirmation of attendance, but simply applying to attend (which only requires the form) and so answers 'yes'.

 

And now there is a misunderstanding because person b answered yes to a different thing than what person a asked and there was no context for either of them to think anything has gone wrong.

 

If you ask "is this all we need to do to confirm attendance?" then there is no room for misunderstanding.

 

 

There is no 'if' in '请问，我们将参展表格发传真给您就是最后确认了吧？

Yes there is.  Chinese is full of implied 'if's and this is one such case.

[aone]

请问，我们将参展表格发传真给您就是最后确认了吧？

 

Yes ,there is no 'if' in the above, if you want to add it in, then we can say 请问，(如果)我们将参展表格发传真给您，（这样的话）就是最后确认了吧？
 

[Pedroski]

Implied 'ifs'? The implication lies in '请问‘ perhaps? Or simply in the fact that this is a question, not a statement? Or in '吧’？ Or a combination of these factors?