| Abstract | 第1-8页 |
| 内容摘要 | 第8-13页 |
| Chapter One Introduction | 第13-22页 |
| ·Understanding Indirectness | 第13-16页 |
| ·Concept of Indirectness | 第13页 |
| ·Indirectness in Language Use | 第13-14页 |
| ·Motivations of Indirectness | 第14-16页 |
| ·Understanding Cultural Context | 第16-19页 |
| ·Definition of Cultural Context | 第16-17页 |
| ·Importance of Cultural Context in Intercultural Communication | 第17页 |
| ·Function of Cultural Context | 第17-19页 |
| ·Purpose of the Study | 第19-20页 |
| ·Significance of the Study | 第20页 |
| ·Organization of the Dissertation | 第20-22页 |
| Chapter Two Literature Review | 第22-24页 |
| ·Previous Theoretical Studies on Indirectness | 第22-23页 |
| ·Studies on Indirectness Between Chinese and English | 第23-24页 |
| Chapter Three Theoretical Basis for Indirectness | 第24-44页 |
| ·Indirectness from the Perspective of Pragmatics | 第24-38页 |
| ·Austin's Contribution to Speech Act Theory | 第24-27页 |
| ·Searle's Systemization of Speech Act Theory | 第27-28页 |
| ·Searle's Contribution to Indirect Speech Act | 第28-30页 |
| ·Grice's Theory of Conversational Implicature | 第30-32页 |
| ·Leech's Politeness Principle(PP) | 第32-34页 |
| ·Brown and Levinson's Face Theory | 第34-36页 |
| ·Sperber and Wilson's Relevance Theory | 第36-38页 |
| ·Indirectness from the Perspective of Context | 第38-44页 |
| ·Malinowski's Concept of Context | 第38-39页 |
| ·Firth's Context Theory | 第39页 |
| ·Halliday's Register Theory | 第39-40页 |
| ·Levinson's Concept of Context | 第40-41页 |
| ·Sperber & Wilson's Cognitive Context | 第41-42页 |
| ·Verschueren's Theory of Context | 第42-44页 |
| Chapter Four Differences in Indirectness Between Chinese and English Cultures | 第44-62页 |
| ·Universality of Indirectness | 第44-49页 |
| ·Universality in Conventional Indirectness | 第44-46页 |
| ·Universality in Nonconventional Indirectness | 第46-49页 |
| ·Diversity of Indirectness | 第49-62页 |
| ·Diversity on the Pragmalinguistic Level | 第50-54页 |
| ·Different Manifestations of Indirectness in Form | 第50-51页 |
| ·Different Preference for Mode of Indirectness | 第51-54页 |
| ·Diversity on the Sociopragmatic Level | 第54-62页 |
| ·Differences in Cultural Conventions | 第54-57页 |
| ·Differences in Affective Implicatures | 第57-59页 |
| ·Differences in Contextual Cues | 第59-62页 |
| Chapter Five Cultural Orientations in Chinese and English—Contributing Factors in Different Realization of Indirectness | 第62-79页 |
| ·Value Systems | 第62-69页 |
| ·Collectivism vs. Individualism | 第62-65页 |
| ·Power vs. Solidarity | 第65-67页 |
| ·Assertive vs. Non-assertive | 第67-69页 |
| ·Thinking Patterns | 第69-71页 |
| ·Beliefs | 第71-73页 |
| ·Face System | 第73-75页 |
| ·World Views | 第75-76页 |
| ·Contextual Orientation | 第76-79页 |
| Chapter Six Pragmatic Failure of Indirectness in Intercultural Communication | 第79-97页 |
| ·Pragmatic Failure in Cross-cultural Communication | 第79-80页 |
| ·Pragmalinguistic Failure of Indirectness | 第80-87页 |
| ·Failure in Inappropriate Transfer from Chinese to English | 第80-82页 |
| ·Failure in Inappropriate Interpretation of Illocutionary Force | 第82-83页 |
| ·Failure in Inappropriately Interpreting the Degree of English Indirectness | 第83-87页 |
| ·Sociopragmatic Failure of Indirectness | 第87-94页 |
| ·Request | 第88-90页 |
| ·Offer suggestion | 第90-91页 |
| ·Refuse | 第91-93页 |
| ·Complain | 第93-94页 |
| ·Consequences of Pragmatic Failure | 第94-97页 |
| Chapter Seven Strategies for Coping with Indirectness | 第97-105页 |
| ·Knowing English Cultural Context As Well As Chinese Cultural Context | 第97-98页 |
| ·Being Tolerant of the Differences | 第98页 |
| ·Adopting an Impartial Attitude | 第98-100页 |
| ·Making Cultural Adaptations | 第100-101页 |
| ·Cultivating Intercultural Communicative Competence | 第101-105页 |
| Chapter Eight Conclusion | 第105-107页 |
| References | 第107-111页 |
