Why 'someone in Japan' and not 'when he goes to Japan'?


[![img1](https://i.stack.imgur.com/WxAI2m.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/WxAI2m.jpg)

> スミスさんは日本語が出来ないから、日本へ行ったら誰か正しい通訳をしてくれる人が必要だろう
>

>> Book translation: since Mr. Smith doesn't speak Japanese, he will need
**someone in Japan** who can do accurate interpreting for him.

My translation:

> Because Mr. Smith doesn't speak Japanese, **when he goes to Japan** , he'll
> need somebody who can do accurate interpreting for him.

My parsing:

日本へ行ったら | tara clause

誰か正しい通訳をしてくれる人が必要だろう | main clause

The subject of the tara-clause must be Smith because 誰か is mentioned
afterwards.




As Eddie Kal says, your translation is correct and the one in the book may
have the adverbial phrase “in Japan” in a less-than-ideal position.

However, “when he goes to Japan” has its own weakness as it could also be
understood as meaning 日本へ行く時. The Japanese sentence, with たら, is saying Mr.
Smith will need an interpreter when he has completed the action of 日本へ行く, not
on his way. So, he is already in Japan when the event of the main clause
happens. A translation with “(when he is) in Japan” is unambiguous in this
respect.

I don’t know how to accurately translate 日本へ行ったら using the verb “to go.”




As Eddie Kal says, your translation is correct and the one in the book may
have the adverbial phrase “in Japan” in a less-than-ideal position.

However, “when he goes to Japan” has its own weakness as it could also be
understood as meaning 日本へ行く時. The Japanese sentence, with たら, is saying Mr.
Smith will need an interpreter when he has completed the action of 日本へ行く, not
on his way. So, he is already in Japan when the event of the main clause
happens. A translation with “(when he is) in Japan” is unambiguous in this
respect.

I don’t know how to accurately translate 日本へ行ったら using the verb “to go.”

