(1)“难道这也是个痴丫头,又像颦儿来葬花不成?”因又自笑道:“若真也葬花,可谓东施效颦了;不但不为新奇,而且更是可厌”。
"Can this be another absurd maid come to bury flowers like Daiyu?" he wondered in some amusement. "If so, she's Dongshi immitating Xishi, (Xishi was a famous beauty in the ancient kingdom of Yue. Dongshi was an ugly girl who tried to imitate her way) which isn't original but rather tiresome".
(曹雪芹《红楼梦》,杨宪益、戴乃迭译)
文中的“东施效颦”采用直译加注法译出,简洁明确地交待了成语的历史文化背景,有助于西方读者透彻地领会这一典故,并进一步了解中国文化。
除了运用括号或注释提供成语的背景知识之外,译者还可运用增译法在译文中直接增补理解成语所需的相关信息,例如:
(2)你这是在班门弄斧。
You're showing off your proficiency with an axe before Lu Ban the master carpenter.
为了便于译文读者理解,译者首先在译文中增添了showing off your proficiency,点明了“班门弄斧”的喻义,又增添了理解成语所需的背景知识,即鲁班是一名master carpenter。这样的处理方法既简洁明快,又兼顾了意义的传达和文化的交流。