| Abstract | 第1-9页 |
| 摘要 | 第9-11页 |
| List of Tables and Figures | 第11-12页 |
| List of Abbreviations | 第12-13页 |
| Chapter One Introduction | 第13-18页 |
| ·The Purposes of the Study | 第13-15页 |
| ·The Significance of the Study | 第15-16页 |
| ·The Organization of the Thesis | 第16-18页 |
| Chapter Two Literature Review | 第18-31页 |
| ·Definitions of Compliment and Compliment Response | 第18-19页 |
| ·Definitions of Compliment | 第18页 |
| ·Definitions of Compliment Response | 第18-19页 |
| ·Overview of the Principles Abided by Compliment Responses | 第19-21页 |
| ·Grice's Cooperative Principle | 第19-20页 |
| ·The Neo-Gricean Principle | 第20-21页 |
| ·Leech's Politeness Principle | 第21页 |
| ·Previous Studies on Compliments Abroad | 第21-26页 |
| ·Compliment Studies Between 1970s and 1980s | 第22页 |
| ·Compliment Studies Between 1980s and 1990s | 第22-24页 |
| ·Compliment Studies from 1990 to 2001 | 第24-25页 |
| ·Compliment Studies from 2001 until now | 第25-26页 |
| ·Previous Studies on Compliments in China | 第26-29页 |
| ·Compliment Studies Between 1980s and 1990s | 第26页 |
| ·Compliment Studies from 1990 to 2001 | 第26-28页 |
| ·Compliment Studies from 2001 until now | 第28-29页 |
| ·Limitations of Previous Studies on Compliments | 第29-31页 |
| Chapter Three Theoretical Framework | 第31-35页 |
| ·Definitions and Concepts of Culture and Intercultural Communication | 第31-32页 |
| ·Definitions of Culture | 第31-32页 |
| ·Concepts of Intercultural Communication | 第32页 |
| ·Verschueren's Theory of Linguistic Adaptability | 第32-35页 |
| ·The Four Facets of TLA | 第33页 |
| ·The Present Study Perspective on the Basis of TLA | 第33-35页 |
| Chapter Four Research Design and Data Collection | 第35-43页 |
| ·Research Instrument | 第35-37页 |
| ·The Content of the Questionnaire | 第36-37页 |
| ·Subjects | 第37-38页 |
| ·Research Questions | 第38-39页 |
| ·Pilot Study | 第39-43页 |
| ·The Outcome of Pilot Study | 第40-43页 |
| Chapter Five Final Study and Data Analysis | 第43-66页 |
| ·Final Study | 第43页 |
| ·The Compliment Lexicons Adopted by Chinese and American College Students | 第43-49页 |
| ·Classifications of Compliment Lexicons Adopted by Chinese and American College Students | 第44-49页 |
| ·The Compliment Syntactic Patterns Adopted by Chinese and American College Students | 第49-52页 |
| ·The Compliment Response Strategies Adopted by Chinese and American College Students | 第52-60页 |
| ·The Categorization of Compliment Response Strategies | 第52-55页 |
| ·Distribution of Compliment Response Strategies by Chinese and American College Students | 第55-56页 |
| ·The Compliment Response Strategies Influenced by SD and RP | 第56-60页 |
| ·The Changes Presented in Chinese and American English Compliment Response Strategies | 第60-61页 |
| ·The Influencing Factors Leading to the Changes of Compliments | 第61-66页 |
| ·Adaptation to the Change of Culture | 第62页 |
| ·Adaptation to the Traditional Values Held by Chinese and Americans | 第62-64页 |
| ·Adaptation to the Change of Society | 第64-66页 |
| Chapter Six Conclusions | 第66-69页 |
| ·Main Findings of the Study | 第66-67页 |
| ·Limitations of the Study and Suggestions for Further Research | 第67-69页 |
| References | 第69-73页 |
| Appendix A | 第73-75页 |
| Appendix B | 第75-77页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第77页 |
