jellinek (asker) Mar 23, 2010:

I'll go ahead at select "draw a line under" since it received the most positive responses from fellow translators. Still, as a native AE speaker, I went with Elina Rokhkind's "mark the conclusion of". It sounds the most natural in English, in my experience, and doesn't leave any ambiguity as to the meaning. Still, since there are differing opinions and "draw a line under" definitely has the most support, I'll give the most weight to the other translators' views and select "draw a line under".

Thanks a lot for your suggestions!

Angela Greenfield Mar 21, 2010:

Rachel, I am not a native speaker, so I may be mistaken. I have heard this expression and therefore it have come to my mind that it may fit in this context. But if it sounds odd we can trash it. :-)

Rachel Douglas Mar 21, 2010:

Подвести черту Doesn't it mean: to declare that something is at an end - has reached closure, as Angela said - and maybe assess it? If so, then it's very close to the common AE expression, "to draw a line under something." "Let's draw a line under this chapter in our history." "Let's draw a line under our misunderstanding." Meaning, it's ended, it's over. One might then look back and assess it, but there's no accounting overtone. Whereas, "Let's get to the bottom line" has the accounting overtones. "Draw a bottom line under this", evidently a conflation of the two (?) doesn't sound right (to my ear) and I don't believe it's a common expression. In any event, far less common than "Draw a line under this."

Judith Hehir Mar 21, 2010:

I am with Rachel on this. I, too, am a native speaker of AE, and I missed the true meaning of подвести черту. Please disregard my suggestion above, if you haven't already. All things considered, Robert, I would go with either of the choices you mentioned below as your preferred translations.

Rachel Douglas Mar 21, 2010:

line / bottom line I wasn't following the discussion and haven't read the examples, but to me (also a native speaker of AE) "draw a bottom line under" sounds like somebody got their metaphors mixed up. I mean, if you're drawing a line _under_ something, it's already the bottom line - why would you say "bottom"?
I've certainly heard the expression "to draw a line under" something, in the sense of ending the chapter, defining that this is the end of whatever that was, etc.
And the "bottom line" is well known, of course, as in "what's the bottom line"? What's the net cost going to be? What's on the line at the bottom of your accountant's cost estimate? Etc. Which doesn't have anything to do with your context.
But "to draw a bottom line under" is a new one to me.

Angela Greenfield Mar 21, 2010:

To me "подвести черту" means "to bring closure" Or "to conclude something", or "close the chapter" (of life).
"Emphasizing" and "marking" (again, in my opinion) has nothing to do with it.
The process of "подведения черты" also involves looking back at what has been done and assessing the results (similar to "drawing a bottom line" in accounting).

jellinek (asker) Mar 20, 2010:

Note Hi all, thank you very much for your thoughtful input for this question. I haven't yet rated it because I'm a bit torn. I ended up using "marked the conclusion of" in the translation--I feel like that, and "close the books on", are actually the most natural-sounding variations in English.

On the other hand, the more literal translation as "draw a bottom line under" has the most support, both by fellow Proz members and in terms of relevant references given here. To be honest, as a native speaker of (American) English, I had never actually heard that term used before, and would find it a bit confusing if I were reading it in this context. I would ask myself, does "draw a bottom line under" mean "emphasize", or "mark the conclusion of"? The English still seems ambiguous to me in that context.

So if anyone wants to add their thoughts before I rate, please let me know. I may just go with the most support of fellow Proz translators and select "draw a bottom line under", even though I decided not to use it.

Please advise/suggest, and thank you all again for your suggestions.

Respectfully,
Robert Jellinek