| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | 第5-6页 |
| ABSTRACT | 第6-7页 |
| 摘要 | 第8-9页 |
| CONTENTS | 第9-11页 |
| LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS | 第11页 |
| LIST OF TABLES | 第11页 |
| LIST OF FIGURES | 第11-12页 |
| CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION | 第12-18页 |
| 1.1 Introduction | 第12页 |
| 1.2 The object of the study | 第12-13页 |
| 1.3 The rationale of the study | 第13页 |
| 1.4 The objective of the study | 第13-14页 |
| 1.5 The methodology of the study | 第14-15页 |
| 1.6 The organization of the study | 第15-18页 |
| CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW | 第18-26页 |
| 2.1 Definitions of complaint | 第18-19页 |
| 2.2 Studies on complaint | 第19-22页 |
| 2.2.1 Studies from a contrastive approach | 第19-21页 |
| 2.2.2 Studies from a non-contrastive approach | 第21-22页 |
| 2.3 Studies on complaint response | 第22-23页 |
| 2.4 Remaining issues in the above studies | 第23-26页 |
| CHAPTER THREE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK | 第26-34页 |
| 3.1 Introduction | 第26页 |
| 3.2 Abrief introduction to Verschueren s Adaptation Theory | 第26-31页 |
| 3.2.1 Pragmatics as a functional perspective | 第26页 |
| 3.2.2 Language use as continuous making of choices | 第26-27页 |
| 3.2.3 Variability, negotiability and adaptability | 第27-28页 |
| 3.2.4 Four angles of investigation | 第28-31页 |
| 3.3 Complaint responses as a realization of Adaptation Theory | 第31-34页 |
| 3.3.1 Complaint responses as a realization of choice-making | 第31-32页 |
| 3.3.2 Complaint responses as adaptation to contextual correlates | 第32页 |
| 3.3.3 Complaint responses as adaptation to communicative goals | 第32-34页 |
| CHAPTER FOUR LINGUISTIC REALIZATIONS OF COMPLAINT RESPONSES | 第34-44页 |
| 4.1 Introduction | 第34页 |
| 4.2 Excuse | 第34-36页 |
| 4.2.1 Appealing to accidents | 第34-35页 |
| 4.2.2 Denial of agency | 第35-36页 |
| 4.3 Justification | 第36-37页 |
| 4.4 Refutation | 第37-41页 |
| 4.4.1 Content-focused refutation | 第38-39页 |
| 4.4.2 Customer-focused refutation | 第39-41页 |
| 4.5 Apology | 第41页 |
| 4.6 Self-promotion | 第41-42页 |
| 4.7 Summary | 第42-44页 |
| CHAPTER FIVE CONTEXTUAL CORRELATES INFLUENCING THE CHOICE OF COMPLAINT RESPONSES | 第44-50页 |
| 5.1 Introduction | 第44页 |
| 5.2 Complaint responses as adaptation to the feature of context | 第44-46页 |
| 5.3 Complaint responses as adaptation to the content of complaints | 第46-47页 |
| 5.4 Summary | 第47-50页 |
| CHAPTER SIX PRAGMATIC FUNCTIONS OF COMPLAINT RESPONSES | 第50-56页 |
| 6.1 Introduction | 第50页 |
| 6.2 Attributing responsibility | 第50-52页 |
| 6.3 Repairing damaged images | 第52-53页 |
| 6.4 Establishing desired images | 第53-54页 |
| 6.5 Decreasing the credibility of negative reviews | 第54页 |
| 6.6 Summary | 第54-56页 |
| CHAPTER SEVEN CONCLUSION | 第56-60页 |
| 7.1 Introduction | 第56页 |
| 7.2 Major findings of the study | 第56-57页 |
| 7.3 Implications | 第57-58页 |
| 7.4 Limitations | 第58页 |
| 7.5 Suggestions for future research | 第58-60页 |
| REFERENCES | 第60-62页 |
