# 总结出一套方法



## Lydia Qiu

请教一下：在以下语境中的“总结” 怎么英译合适呢？
例句：经过多年实践，他总结出一套成功的学习英文的方法。
有人译成He's reached a conclusion about a set of ways of learning English. 是否合适呢？


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## Ghabi

Hello. Perhaps you can say something like "After many years of practice, he has arrived at a method for learning English efficiently"?


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## NewAmerica

The use of "conclusion" sounds silly and Chinglish to me.

IMO, it could be translated into something like:

After years of practice, he's summarized a series of methods that are effective in learning English.


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## Lydia Qiu

Ghabi said:


> Hello. Perhaps you can say something like "After many years of practice, he has arrived at a method for learning English efficiently"?


Good idea~


NewAmerica said:


> The use of "conclusion" sounds silly and Chinglish to me.


I feel the same way. hehe  Thank you for your help.


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## brofeelgood

He worked out a concise approach to learning English.


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## Lydia Qiu

Sounds good.


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## NewAmerica

brofeelgood said:


> He worked out a concise approach to learning English.



The problem of your translation is that an approach of being concise doesn't necessarily mean that the approach is effective or successful. Yet being effective or successful is emphasized by the original Chinese.

A concise approach basically means that the approach is expressed in a few words, simply making it look succinct.


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## brofeelgood

You've misconstrued my use of 'concise' as a translation of 成功的.

1) Once you've *worked out* a method, you have a method that works. This relates to the 成功的方法.
2) Once you've put a summary together, you have a version that's *concise*. This relates to the 总结.

So it's all there, just maybe not in the places you might have imagined.

And 'concise' isn't just about being ‘expressed in a few words’. There is particular emphasis on being to the point, brief but comprehensive, and succinct and clear. In other words, a concise approach can be understood to be an efficient approach here.


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## NewAmerica

So your idea is boiled down to the definition of the phrase "work out"?

Yet "work out" in this context basically means "develop" - Is development a good thing? Yes, it is better than stagnation. But the quality of the development is still questionable. 

You develop a plan, or you develop an approach. Must it mean it is a good plan or good approach? Not really.
By the same token, you work out a plan or an approach. Must it mean it is a good plan or good approach? Not really.

 That is, the verb "develop" or the verb phrase "work out" itself is not strong enough to suggest that it must be good. You need use some adjective like "well" or "(quite) well" or "effective" to enhance its positive implication. Such as:

 He worked out a concise *yet effective* approach to learning English. 

 Simply writing it as "He worked out a concise approach to learning English" has weakened the original intention of its Chinese text.


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## brofeelgood

I've never heard of a 'concise approach' being an ineffective one, but hey, if it helps you sleep better at night thinking that, feel free to think otherwise.


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## NewAmerica

You do not understand: A concise approach is neither an ineffective nor an effective one. It is more neutral with a succinct form.


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## Lamb67

He sussed out a methodology of learning English 😀
...arrived at a methodology of learning English.


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## T.D

summarise？develop?


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## Sanchuan

He's distilled many years of practice into an English-learning method that works.


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