【正文】 and nonverbal aspects, language embodies cultural reality. Finally, language is a system of signs that is seen as having itself a cultural value. Speakers identify themselves and others through their use of language。 they view thei r 湖南涉外經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)院本科生畢業(yè)論文（設(shè)計(jì)） 6 language as a symbol of their social identity. The prohibition of its use is often perceived by its speakers as a rejection of their social group and their culture. Thus we can say that language symbolizes cultural reality (Kramsch 2021:3). Nida (2021:139) says， Language and culture are two interdependent symbolic systems. Language is one ponent of culture and is the carrier of culture at the same time. Language is also indispensable to both the function and perpetuation of culture. Besides, Chinese scholars Deng Yanchang and Liu Runqing (1989:3) observe， Language is a part of culture and plays a very important role in it. Some social scientists consider it the keystone of culture. Without language, they maintain culture would not be possible. On the other hand， language is influenced and shaped by culture。 it reflects culture. They also think that“ In the broadest sense, language is the symbolic representation of a people, and it prises their historical and cultural backgrounds as well as their approach to life and their ways of living and thinking (ibid). That is to say, understanding of language is inseparably related to the understanding of culture, and vice versa. Social scientists tell us that cultures differ from one another and every culture is unique. Different people have different cultural patterns. People sharing the same cultural pattern are attracted to live together. Their ways of selfpresentation and feeling expressing are not the same. Every ethnic group has its shared culture and this shared culture passes from generation to generation. But divergences exist in accordance with different geographic areas， religious beliefs， value systems， different social status, personal characteristics, and so on. All these form the differences of national culture, which are also certainly embodied in language. Chinese culture and Englishrelated culture mentioned in this thesis are thus different cultures. Just as cultures are diverse， languages are inevitably diverse. There always exist obstacles in mutual understanding between participants who belong to different cultures and speak different languages. Thus, munication, especially cultural munication or cultural exchange, is by no means easy. In a word, language and culture are interdependent and inseparable. On the one hand，the using and understanding of a language are based on its cultural background. On the other hand, each culture necessarily has some reflection of its language. The difference in culture湖南涉外經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)院本科生畢業(yè)論文（設(shè)計(jì)） 7 will be inevitably embodied in different levels of language system. One cannot separate the two without losing the significance of either language or culture. Relationship between Idiom and Culture Just as language and culture are inseparable from each other, idiom, as the essence of language, relates to culture much more closely. It is usually highly specialized in meaning and closely tied to distinctive cultural features and cultural attitudes. It is believed that idioms are the most culturally loaded element in any language39。s vocabulary. They give an expression to the special features of the language and they are mirrors of a national culture. At the same time, The role of language within a culture and the influence of the culture on the meanings of idioms are so pervasive that scarcely any text can be adequately understood without careful consideration of its cultural background (Nida 2021: l). So to learn idiom is a mus t to learn its culture. The translation of idioms from one language into another is always plex， especially when the backgrounds and cultures of the two languages involved are so unlike each other. So the translator should cultivate the profound and prehensive cultural knowledge as well as the full familiarity with the language symbols so as to attain the deep prehension of the cultural differences. The knowledge of the culture background which gives birth to idioms will help to solve the problem of misunderstanding of idioms in different language systems such as Chinese and English. Thus a contrastive study on cultural features of English and Chinese idioms is of great importance for knowing idioms.湖南涉外經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)院本科生畢業(yè)論文（設(shè)計(jì)） 8 Chapter 2 Definitions of English and Chinese Idioms In almost all cases, the English term idiom is expressed as chengyu(成語 ) in Chinese, while the Chinese term chengyu is translated into English as idiom. But scholars at home and abroad have different opinions about idiom and chengyu, that is to say, there are a variety of definitions for idioms. Definition of English Idiom Almost every English dictionary gives a definition to idiom, but because of the dictionary editors39。 different understanding about idiom, so the definitions that they give have some differences. The following definitions of idiom e from four authoritative English dictionaries. According to New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998), an idiom is defined as a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words. In Longman Dictionary of Applied Linguistics (1985), an idiom is an expression which functions as a single unit and whose meaning cannot be worked out from its separate parts. In Webster39。s Third New World International Dictionary (1976), an idiom is referred to as an expression established in the usage of a language that is peculiar to itself either in grammatical construction or in having a meaning that cannot be derived as a whole from the conjoined meanings of its elements. Webster39。s New World College