| Acknowledgements | 第1-4页 |
| Abstract (English) | 第4-5页 |
| Abstract (Chinese) | 第5-8页 |
| 1 Introduction | 第8-13页 |
| 2 Preliminaries | 第13-25页 |
| ·A Survey of the Study of Hedging | 第13-23页 |
| ·Hedging Study in Semantics | 第14-15页 |
| ·Semantic Features---What is meant by hedging? | 第15-18页 |
| ·Hedging Study from Semantics to Pragmatics | 第18-23页 |
| ·Hedge in Some Other Areas | 第23页 |
| ·Defining Pragmatic Hedging | 第23-25页 |
| 3 Realization of Pragmatic Hedging | 第25-45页 |
| ·Lexical Hedges---What types of words can be used for hedging? | 第25-41页 |
| ·Modal Auxiliaries | 第25-28页 |
| ·Verbs | 第28-32页 |
| a. Tentative Cognition Verbs | 第28-31页 |
| b. Tentative Linking Verbs | 第31-32页 |
| c. Non-factive Reporting Verbs | 第32页 |
| ·Adverbs | 第32-38页 |
| a. Probability Adverbs | 第33-34页 |
| b. Adverbs of Frequency | 第34-35页 |
| c. Adverbs of Indefinite degree | 第35-37页 |
| d. Approximative Adverbs | 第37-38页 |
| ·Adjective | 第38-40页 |
| ·Nouns | 第40-41页 |
| ·Non-lexical Hedges | 第41-43页 |
| ·If-clauses | 第41-42页 |
| ·Introductory Phrases | 第42页 |
| ·Passive Voice | 第42-43页 |
| ·More Hedges | 第43-45页 |
| 4 Pragmatic Function of Hedging | 第45-61页 |
| ·Hedging and Conversational Implicature | 第45-50页 |
| ·Grice's Conversational Implicature | 第45-46页 |
| ·The Cancellability of Hedging in Conversational Implicature | 第46-49页 |
| ·The Indeterminacy of Hedge in Conversational Implicature | 第49-50页 |
| ·Hedging and Co-operative Principle | 第50-53页 |
| ·Maxims of Co-operative Principle | 第50-51页 |
| ·Hedging and the Maxim of Quality | 第51-52页 |
| ·Hedging and the Maxim of Quantity | 第52-53页 |
| ·Syntax of Hedges---How are they used in utterance? | 第53-55页 |
| ·Hedging---A textual device in discourse | 第55-56页 |
| ·Polite Uses of Hedging | 第56-59页 |
| ·Conventional Practice | 第59-61页 |
| 5 Conclusion | 第61-63页 |
| References in English | 第63-67页 |
| References in Chinese | 第67-69页 |
