We often hear people use the word “アンケート”(enquête) in Japan. I suppose that it is questionnaire in English. Do French people use the word “enquête” to signify a questionnaire? Who is supposed to fill in enquête? An interviewer or an interviewee?
Can they be called “enquête,” if questionnaire are sent to people by mail, that is, by snail mail?
→ if questionnaireS are sent
The Dutch language borrowed the word ‘enquête’ from French, and in Dutch it does mean a questionnaire. I am not sure if it means ‘questionnaire’ in French, because there’s the word ‘un questionnaire’ too.
In Dutch we have the word ‘enquêteur’, which most probably comes from French too…
I always hear the following phrase such as “Selon une enquête…(means ある調査 or あるアンケートによれば）” when I listen to the news of Radio Japon in French.
If you put this phrase in the search box on Google, you will find many example phrases. It indicates that this word is always used in the life, especially in the news.
I found an example including this word “enquête” in my diary, in which I translated it in japanese.
Augmentation des crimes liés aux sites de rencontre sur internet au Japon
Selon le livre blanc annuel sur la Jeunesse, le nombre de mineurs japonais victimes d’actes criminels par l’intermédiaire de sites de rencontres sur internet est en augmentation.
Les statistiques gouvernementales indiquent que 1 187 mineurs ont été victimes de tels crimes en 2006, soit 105 de plus qu’en 2005.
Parmi toutes les affaires constatées, 45 mineurs ont été confrontés à des crimes graves, allant du viol au meurtre. Il s’agit là d’une augmentation de 600 pour cent par rapport à 2000, année à partir de laquelle le gouvernement a mis en place cette enquête.
日本でインターネットでの出会いサイトに結びついた犯罪の増加
青少年（年間）白書によれば、ネットでの出会いサイトを媒介として日本での犯罪犠牲者となった未成年者の数が増加している。
政府の統計によれば、1187人の未成年が2006年にそのような犯罪の犠牲者となった。それは2005年より105人多い。.
確認された全ての事件の中で、45人の未成年は重犯罪に直面した。それは強姦から殺人に至っている。（政府がこのアンケートを始めた）2000年に比べて600%の増加となる。
Radio Japon, 30, June, 2006
According to this article, “enquête” is “les statistiques gouvernementales”（=政府の統計）
Do you know who is supposed to fill in enquête in this case?
To me enquête simply means inquiry, or survey and by extension can mean a poll as in a public opinion poll. It does not mean questionnaire, as in a form to fill out, at least to me, (although it does in Russian) but with the way this word has been borrowed in different languages, I no longer know if my understanding of the French usage is up to date or accurate.
I also found this word in Today’s article of Radio Japon.
Selon le ministère japonais de la Santé, deux tiers des préfectures et des grandes villes du pays seraient disposé à imposer une interdiction totale de fumer dans les bâtiments publics.
Le ministère a diligenté une enquête auprès des autorités locales coïncidant avec la Journée mondiale sans tabac, célébrée le 31 mai.
I tried to translate it in Japanese.
厚生省によると、都道府県及び大都市の2/3が公共の建物での完全禁煙を課する方向にあるとのことである。
内閣は31日世界禁煙の日を祝うと同時に地域当局に対して入念にアンケートを執り行った。
In this context, how about ”enquête"?
(Sorry, I can not translate this in English.)
And I found the other word "sondage (d’opinion) " which also means “アンケート” in other context.
Selon un cacique du Parti démocrate, les sondages d’opinion révélent que plus de 80 pour cent des personnes interrogées ne font pas confiance à M. Hatoyama.
民主党の重鎮によれば、「(尋問を受けた）80%以上の人が鳩山首相を信頼していない」と世論調査が暴露している。
In this case, I think that interviewees fiｌ in (=remplir) “sondage (d’opinion)”.
In Spanish we have “encuesta” and its use is more of a questionnaire rather than a form to fill out. I guess the use in both languages is the same.
Thank you all for replying to my question.
I think the word “enquête” has several meanings depending on the context, and it is sometimes used ambiguously.
In German we use this word too. The meaning is the same that Steve described.
Very common in politcal language is the “Enquete-Kommission”.
I followed your enquiry from afar. You didn’t use a questionnaire for your survey, yet you appear to be happy with your findings. (I am not saying you should have started an inquiry, used a questionnaire or some interview-based approach to arrive at a satisfactory result, I am just playing with words.)
SanneT,
One of my findings is that you are a survey research specialist. You used the following words very skillfully in your comment: enquiry, survey, questionnaire, interview, findings, and result.
VeraI,
Could you tell me what “Enquete-Kommission” means?
Hi Yutaka, you can read something about “Enquete-Kommission” in the German wikipedia: Enquete-Kommission – Wikipedia (Please copy the Link and remove the space if LingQ is hacking this link.
Quote from Wikipedia:
"Enquête-Kommissionen (von frz. enquête, „Untersuchung“) sind vom Deutschen Bundestag oder von einem Landesparlament eingesetzte überfraktionelle Arbeitsgruppen, die langfristige Fragestellungen lösen sollen, in denen unterschiedliche juristische, ökonomische, soziale oder ethische Aspekte abgewogen werden müssen.
In der Enquête-Kommission soll eine gemeinsame Position erarbeitet werden. Ziel ist es, bei Problemen zu einer Lösung zu kommen, die von der überwiegenden Mehrheit der Bevölkerung (auch von dem Teil, der sich nicht durch die jeweilige Mehrheitsfraktion vertreten fühlt) mitgetragen werden kann."
It’s a conference or a committee of the governement where all politcal parties participate. They should solve questions that are import in the long term. They should consider law problems, economic, social and ethical ascpects. The goal is to find a solution that is acceptable for most of the population.
Sorry, I’m not able to give a better explanation.
VeraI,
Thank you for your explanation.
( I am an admirer of German sociologists, such as Georg Simmel and Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno. I hope I can read their works in German in the future.)
Hi Yutaka, I’m sure you can do it. I consider you as seriously interested in language learning. So you would reach your goal! Good luck with your German.
P.S. There was a typo in my last post: They should solve questions that are importANT in the long term.