David Lin Nov 21, 2014:

谢谢各位热烈的讨论 各位的意见非常好。

@J.H.： 你的美语在线字典链结 www.dictionary.reference.com 提供了更多有用的解释。这边英国英语用 robust 来表达的方式没有美国英语那么多，与文化异同有关。又一次证明了我们做翻译的对于一词多义的形容词，需要小心处理，才能准确译出原文意思。

@purpleclover and @Ling Wang: 视乎原文怎么描述 robust 的招揽人材，“有效” 或 “灵活” 都挺到位。起码是有根据的译法，就算有人 （如：校对员）反对，相信都可抵挡得住。

个人相信各种译法可以适用于不同的中文句子结构。问者 TMK729 可以根据原文语境选择一个适当的译法以配合其文章的内容。

再谢谢各位参与求真的讨论。

最后要看问者自己的选择了。

Sharon Tong Nov 20, 2014:

方法 Robust approach 就是有效的方法，用“稳健”来形容“方法”似为不妥。

Jinhang Wang Nov 20, 2014:

或者，强效、可靠等。

Jinhang Wang Nov 20, 2014:

现在可以断定了，robust 就是“有效”的意思。

Jinhang Wang Nov 20, 2014:

还有：

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Robust

注意第 6 义项：

strong and effective in all or most situations and conditions: The system requires robust passwords that contain at least one number or symbol.

“Our goal is to devise robust statistical methods.”

特别是 robust methods 与 robust approach 的意思基本是一样的。

leviphilippe Nov 20, 2014:

Why not 灵活 since robust means vigorous too?
That means 方法也应该因人而异。但同时也有一个原则贯穿其中，那就是consistent
供讨论而已。

Jinhang Wang Nov 20, 2014:

更多有用资料：

https://dictionary.search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0SO8zVPFm5U...

注意，其中的第 5 条义项：

5. Working in an effective way; effective or productive.

a robust search engine; a robust hypothesis.

David Lin Nov 20, 2014:

My pleasure. As I play with words, I thought 果断 would be possible to denote the company practice / process of choosing talents to be “坚定” 、不会软弱无力 或 “猶疑不決”。

I was thinking of 进取 too.

How about 稳健 consistent 但进取 （的做法） robust?

I'm listening to other suggestions.

It might be easier if the Asker can let us see the rest of the description about the "approach" i.e. how "robust" it is. In other words, more context is required for an accurate translation.

jarv95888 Nov 19, 2014:

Thanks, David. I don't know. I still think "determined (果断)" is way off the mark in this context. It would be better to hear opinions from the other suggesters.

(P.S.: "Determined" or "果断" poses an implied contrast to "indicision" or "hesitation." The text in question doesn't show a company's issue about this. They already have an "approach." It's just a descriptive word for their strong committment to active recruitment. I'm beginning to feel Jyuan's suggestion of "強健的" may work. Or, maybe, we should first determine what Chinese words to render "approach" before deciding on the adjective.)

David Lin Nov 19, 2014:

Just for discussion Thanks. If you think "forceful" is ok, would 果断 (的决定／措施）be suitable for "robust". I'm still playing with words.

Just for discussion.

jarv95888 Nov 19, 2014:

"Determined" ? Sorry but I really cannot see any trace of the meaning of "determinedness" in this context. (A company has to be determined in recruiting talents?!) Instead, I see a "strong and proactive" sense in its usage here.
"Robust" describes their strong and active committmet in their talent recruitment, and "consistent" expresses their principles in selecting talents.
"Forceful"..., yes; but "Determined"..., I feel some doubts about it.

David Lin Nov 19, 2014:

Closer @J.H. Wang

Your new finding from "Free Dictionary" IMO looks closer to the meaning of "robust" in this context, because Dictionary explanation for both "uncompromising" and "forceful" (From Oxford Dictionary) has the word "determined" which I think expresses "robust" better in this context.

In human resource business, if you received 100 applications for a single vacancy HR will require the quality of "determination" to short list the candidates you think best for the job. This "determination" will then be used to match the candidates' qualification and experience with the corporation ethos and job description, which will require a good level of "consistency" so the selection of talents will follow the same guidelines and/or match the values/ethos of the corporation/job.

In other words, IMO an approach that is only "robust" will not work if it is not "consistent" as well.

@jarv95888: I know where you come from, but based on the above reasons, I'm not inclined to agree that "robust" and "consistent" are used for just connotation purpose. I think it's rather specific here to express the quality that is required to handle talent identification for that particular company.

jarv95888 Nov 18, 2014:

The word is expressive in usage not to be construe I think the word is used in expressive way, not to be construed for denotation.
Having "robust" and "consistent" put together" to describe "approach" is to construct a context to intuit it. Just like "稳健," there's no need to stick to "health" (健) in the translation.
I'm more prone to the idea that the word is more connonative than dennotative. We don't have to stick to "virus" when we are trying to translate "going viral," do we?

Jinhang Wang Nov 18, 2014:

重新研究了一下，应该是“直观”、“直截了当”、“简单明了”的意思。请参考：


http://www.thefreedictionary.com/robust

其中有：

7. (of thought, intellect, etc) straightforward and imbued with common sense

YJ ZHANG Nov 18, 2014:

同意David的意见。robust本身没有“稳”的意思。这个词组的“稳”是通过"consistent" 表达出来的。

David Lin Nov 18, 2014:

一词多义的管理词语 当表达一个人的态度时，牛津字典将 robust 解释为：

Uncompromising and forceful:
Example: He took quite a robust view of my case

好像较偏向于 “坚定” 、 authoritative、不会软弱无力的含义。

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/robust

由于问者的语境与 “挑选人材” 有关 ， 所以同管理视角或观点类似，可能和设备仪器设计方面的 sturdy, strong 有点不同。

供讨论。

Jinhang Wang Nov 17, 2014:

robust 稳妥可靠的，FYI

TMK729 (asker) Nov 16, 2014:

then, how to translate "a robust approach"?