| Abstract | 第1-6页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第6-7页 |
| Chapter One Introduction | 第7-9页 |
| ·Background of the Study | 第7-8页 |
| ·Purpose and Significance of the Study | 第8页 |
| ·Organization of the Thesis | 第8-9页 |
| Chapter Two Literature Review | 第9-25页 |
| ·The Nature of Pragmatic Failure | 第9-14页 |
| ·Pragmatics | 第9-10页 |
| ·Pragmatic Failure-Pragmalinguistic Failure and Sociopragmatic Failure | 第10-14页 |
| ·Historical Overview: General Studies on Pragmatic Failure | 第14-18页 |
| ·Studies of Pragmatic Failure Abroad | 第14-15页 |
| ·Studies of Pragmatic Failure in China | 第15-18页 |
| ·Language Taboo and Pragmatic Failure | 第18-25页 |
| ·Definition of Language Taboo | 第18页 |
| ·Characteristics of Language Taboo | 第18-19页 |
| ·Kinds of Taboos in English and Chinese Cultures | 第19-23页 |
| ·Taboo Words | 第20-21页 |
| ·Taboo Topics | 第21-23页 |
| ·Language Taboos and Pragmatic Failures | 第23-25页 |
| ·Pragmatic Failures Caused by Misusing Taboo Words | 第23页 |
| ·Pragmatic Failures Caused by Misusing Taboo Topics | 第23-25页 |
| Chapter Three Causes of Pragmatic Failure | 第25-38页 |
| ·Cognitive Approach to Pragmatic Failure | 第25-28页 |
| ·Prototype Theory | 第25-26页 |
| ·Pragmatic Failure and Mental Representation | 第26-28页 |
| ·Theory of Transfer | 第28-36页 |
| ·Interlanguage | 第28-29页 |
| ·Language Transfer | 第29-34页 |
| ·Negative Transfer at the Semantic Level | 第30-32页 |
| ·Negative Transfer at the Syntactic Level | 第32页 |
| ·Negative Transfer at the Discourse Level | 第32-34页 |
| ·Culture Transfer | 第34-36页 |
| ·Teaching-Induced Error | 第36-38页 |
| Chapter Four A Study of Chinese Students' Pragmatic Failure in Language Taboo | 第38-50页 |
| ·Subjects | 第38页 |
| ·Method | 第38-39页 |
| ·Form and Content of the Questionnaire | 第39页 |
| ·Procedure | 第39-40页 |
| ·Results and Discussion | 第40-48页 |
| ·Results of Part One: Pragmatic Failure in Taboo Topics | 第40-45页 |
| ·Results of Part Two: Pragmatic Failure in Taboo Words | 第45-47页 |
| ·Results of Part Three | 第47-48页 |
| ·Interview | 第48-50页 |
| Chapter Five Implications for Language Teaching and Learning | 第50-53页 |
| Chapter Six Conclusion | 第53-55页 |
| References | 第55-58页 |
| Appendix I Questionnaire | 第58-62页 |
| Appendix II Results of the Questionnaire | 第62-67页 |
| Appendix III Topics in Three Chinese Speaking Textbooks | 第67-68页 |
