| 摘要 | 第1-7页 |
| Abstract | 第7-11页 |
| List of Figures and Tables | 第11-12页 |
| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第12-30页 |
| ·Previous studies on vague language (VL) | 第12-18页 |
| ·Purposes and significance of the research | 第18-19页 |
| ·Research methods and data collection | 第19-21页 |
| ·Theoretical foundations of the research | 第21-28页 |
| ·Adaptation theory:contextual adaptation to the mental, social and physical worlds | 第21-24页 |
| ·Vague language redefined from the contextual adaptation perspective | 第24-26页 |
| ·Pragmatic functions of VL based on contextual adaptation | 第26-28页 |
| ·Effectiveness for achieving promotion, economy and flexibility | 第27-28页 |
| ·Persuasiveness for fulfilling consensus, politeness and esteem | 第28页 |
| ·Vividness for cultivating novelty, entertainment and pertinence | 第28页 |
| ·Structure of the thesis | 第28-30页 |
| Chapter 2 Effectiveness of VL in Online Shopping Advertisements (OSAs) as Adaptation to the Mental World | 第30-45页 |
| ·VL as adaptation to advertisers' motivations | 第30-36页 |
| ·Promotion:catering to consumers' rational appeals | 第30-32页 |
| ·Economy:better impressing consumers with less information | 第32-34页 |
| ·Flexibility:protecting producers from taking responsibilities | 第34-36页 |
| ·VL as adaptation to advertisers' assessments of consumers' needs | 第36-42页 |
| ·Promotion:satisfying consumers' psychological needs | 第37-39页 |
| ·Economy:satisfying preference for beauty of advertisements with less effort | 第39-41页 |
| ·Flexibility:catering to desire for imagination | 第41-42页 |
| ·Summary | 第42-45页 |
| Chapter 3 Persuasiveness of VL in OSAs as Adaptation to the Social World | 第45-59页 |
| ·VL as adaptation to social settings and institutions | 第45-50页 |
| ·Consensus:complying with credibility | 第46-47页 |
| ·Politeness:showing politeness to consumers | 第47-48页 |
| ·Esteem:enhancing curiosity for international and advanced products | 第48-50页 |
| ·VL as adaptation to cultural norms and values | 第50-56页 |
| ·Consensus:manifesting filial piety to the elders and love to the young | 第51-53页 |
| ·Politeness:shunning personal offence against the weak groups | 第53-54页 |
| ·Esteem:avoiding face-threatening acts and disgusting feelings | 第54-56页 |
| ·Summary | 第56-59页 |
| Chapter 4 Vividness of VL in OSAs as Adaptation to the Physical World | 第59-66页 |
| ·VL as adaptation to fashion via building a sense of novelty | 第59-60页 |
| ·VL as adaptation to the Internet through promoting entertainment | 第60-61页 |
| ·VL as adaptation to gender and age by maintaining pertinence | 第61-63页 |
| ·Summary | 第63-66页 |
| Chapter 5 Conclusion | 第66-69页 |
| ·Major findings of the research | 第66-68页 |
| ·Limitations and suggestions for future studies | 第68-69页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第69-70页 |
| Bibliography | 第70-75页 |
| Appendix of OSAs | 第75-83页 |
| Articles published | 第83页 |
