| Acknowledgements | 第1-6页 |
| 摘要 | 第6-8页 |
| Abstract | 第8-13页 |
| 1.Introduction | 第13-19页 |
| ·A general description of Chinese xieyin and English homophony | 第13-15页 |
| ·Significance of the study | 第15-16页 |
| ·Objectives of the study | 第16页 |
| ·Methodology and data collection | 第16-17页 |
| ·Structure of the thesis | 第17-19页 |
| 2. Literature Review | 第19-25页 |
| ·Previous studies on Chinese xieyin | 第19-22页 |
| ·Rhetorical approach | 第19-20页 |
| ·Cultural approach | 第20-21页 |
| ·Comparative approach | 第21页 |
| ·Cognitive approach | 第21-22页 |
| ·Other approaehes | 第22页 |
| ·Previous studies on English homophony | 第22-23页 |
| ·Rhetorical approach | 第22-23页 |
| ·Lexicological learning approach | 第23页 |
| ·Semantic approach | 第23页 |
| ·Achievements and limitations of the previous studies | 第23-25页 |
| 3. Theoretical Framework | 第25-32页 |
| ·Langacker's theory of autonomy-dependence alignment | 第25-26页 |
| ·Xu Shenghuan's further study of autonomy and dependence | 第26-27页 |
| ·Xu Shenghuan's Autonomy-Dependency Analysis Framework | 第27-32页 |
| ·The hypotheses underlying the framework | 第27-29页 |
| ·The Autonomy-Dependency Analysis Framework | 第29页 |
| ·Constraints of the framework | 第29-32页 |
| 4. A Comparative Study on the External Features of xieyin in Chinese and English | 第32-51页 |
| ·The definitions of xieyin and homophony | 第32-35页 |
| ·The definition of Chinese xieyin | 第32-33页 |
| ·The definition of English homophony | 第33-34页 |
| ·A new working definition of xieyin and homophony | 第34-35页 |
| ·The classification of xieyin | 第35-39页 |
| ·Explicit xieyin | 第37页 |
| ·Implicit xieyin | 第37-39页 |
| ·Etymological sources of xieyin in Chinese and English | 第39-44页 |
| ·Sources for both xieyin and homophony | 第39-43页 |
| ·Source peculiar to Chinese xieyin | 第43页 |
| ·Source peculiar to English homophony | 第43-44页 |
| ·Functions of xieyin in Chinese and English | 第44-51页 |
| ·The rhetorical function | 第44-47页 |
| ·The word formational function | 第47-48页 |
| ·The cultural function | 第48-51页 |
| 5. Internal Generation and Interpretation Mechanisms of Xieyin in Chinese andEnglish | 第51-64页 |
| ·Autonomous element and dependent element in xieyin alignment | 第51-52页 |
| ·Intentionality of the production of xieyin alignment | 第52-53页 |
| ·Proximity and similarity in xieyin alignment | 第53-54页 |
| ·Xieyin based on similarity only | 第53-54页 |
| ·Xieyin based on both proximity and similarity | 第54页 |
| ·Analysis of generation process of xieyin alignment | 第54-59页 |
| ·Generation process of xieyin based on similarity | 第54-58页 |
| ·Generation process of xieyin based on both proximity and similarity | 第58-59页 |
| ·A unified framework for the generation and interpretation of xieyin | 第59-61页 |
| ·The interpretation process of xieyin expressions | 第61-64页 |
| ·Interpretation of explicit xieyin | 第61-62页 |
| ·Interpretation of implicit xieyin | 第62-64页 |
| 6. Conclusion | 第64-67页 |
| ·Major findings of the thesis | 第64-66页 |
| ·Limitations and suggestions for further studies | 第66-67页 |
| Bibliography | 第67-69页 |
