| 摘要 | 第1-6页 |
| ABSTRACT | 第6-9页 |
| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第9-12页 |
| ·Background of the Study | 第9页 |
| ·Significance of the Study | 第9-10页 |
| ·Layout of the Thesis | 第10-12页 |
| Chapter 2 Literature Review | 第12-32页 |
| ·A Sketch of Theoretical Background | 第12-17页 |
| ·Three Properties of Language | 第13-14页 |
| ·Four Aspects of Investigation | 第14-16页 |
| ·Application of Adaptation Theory in the Present Study | 第16-17页 |
| ·Overview of Refusal Letters | 第17-22页 |
| ·Definition of Refusal | 第18-19页 |
| ·Characteristics of Refusals | 第19-20页 |
| ·General Strategies for Business Refusal Letters | 第20-22页 |
| ·Overview of the Previous Research on Vague Language | 第22-29页 |
| ·Definition of Vague Language | 第23-25页 |
| ·Classifications of Vague Languages | 第25-27页 |
| ·Differences among Vague Language,Fuzziness,Ambiguity and Generality | 第27-29页 |
| ·Previous Study on Vagueness and Pragmatic Vagueness | 第29-32页 |
| Chapter 3 Methodology | 第32-35页 |
| ·Research Questions | 第32页 |
| ·Data Collection | 第32-34页 |
| ·Research Methods | 第34-35页 |
| Chapter 4 Results and Discussions | 第35-63页 |
| ·Data Analysis | 第35-40页 |
| ·Frequency of Vague Language in the Four Types of Refusal Letters | 第35-37页 |
| ·Distribution of Vague Language Realization | 第37-38页 |
| ·Characteristics of Theme Distribution | 第38-40页 |
| ·Employment of Vague Language in Refusal Letters as Adaptation to Contextual Influences | 第40-55页 |
| ·Employment of Vague Language in Refusal Letters as Adaptation to Language Users | 第41-45页 |
| ·Employment of Vague Language in Refusal Letters as Adaptation to Psychological Motivations | 第45-51页 |
| ·Employment of Vague Language in Refusal Letters as Adaptation to Social World | 第51-55页 |
| ·Functions of Vague Language | 第55-63页 |
| ·Increasing the Appropriateness of Language | 第56-57页 |
| ·Enhancing the Flexibility of Business Communication | 第57页 |
| ·Crisis Avoidance | 第57-59页 |
| ·You-attitude Actualization | 第59-60页 |
| ·Distribution of Vague Language Functions | 第60-63页 |
| Chapter 5 Conclusion | 第63-67页 |
| ·Major Findings | 第63-64页 |
| ·Implications | 第64-65页 |
| ·Limitations | 第65页 |
| ·Suggestions for Future Study | 第65-67页 |
| References | 第67-70页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第70-71页 |
| Resume | 第71-72页 |
