| Acknowledgements | 第3-5页 |
| Abstract | 第5-6页 |
| 摘要 | 第11-12页 |
| 1. Introduction | 第12-23页 |
| 1.1 The increasing focus on linguistic politeness in China | 第12-14页 |
| 1.2 An example of "impoliteness" | 第14-16页 |
| 1.3 What foreigners say | 第16-19页 |
| 1.4 Research questions | 第19-23页 |
| 2. Literature Review | 第23-70页 |
| 2.1 Brown and Levinson | 第23-30页 |
| 2.1.1 Brown and Levinson's framework of politeness | 第23-25页 |
| 2.1.2 Face and face-threatening acts | 第25-26页 |
| 2.1.3 Politeness strategies | 第26-30页 |
| 2.2 Criticisms and alternatives to Brown and Levinson's politeness theory | 第30-33页 |
| 2.3 Literature on impoliteness | 第33-37页 |
| 2.4 Studies of politeness in China | 第37-43页 |
| 2.5 Responses to Chinese politeness studies | 第43-52页 |
| 2.6 Traditional vs.contemporary politeness in China | 第52-54页 |
| 2.7 Recent trends in globalization and the politeness phenomenon | 第54-57页 |
| 2.8 Societal change,the "middle class" ,and their effects on politeness | 第57-61页 |
| 2.9 Towards a cognitive linguistic theory of politeness | 第61-63页 |
| 2.10 Cultural variability and factors affecting degree of politeness | 第63-64页 |
| 2.11 Social interactions as frames | 第64-66页 |
| 2.12 Does having the same ideas mean doing things the same way? | 第66-68页 |
| 2.13 How are concepts of politehess formed? | 第68-70页 |
| 3. Research methods | 第70-101页 |
| 3.1 Choice of subjects under study | 第70-74页 |
| 3.2 Choice of research methods | 第74-76页 |
| 3.3 Pilot case study | 第76-82页 |
| 3.4 In what ways are Chinese and native English speaker cognitive frames of politeness congruent? | 第82-83页 |
| 3.5 How does social status affect degree of politeness shown? If social status is conceived similarly between the two study groups, does this in turn translate into similar choices of politeness strategies? | 第83-84页 |
| 3.6 What factors cause discrepancies in acceptability judgments of politeness strategies between Chinese learners of English and native English speakers, and are the discrepancies a result of differing input? | 第84-88页 |
| 3.7 Study one | 第88-91页 |
| 3.7.1 Participants of study one | 第88-89页 |
| 3.7.2 Data collection of study one | 第89-90页 |
| 3.7.3 Procedure of study one | 第90-91页 |
| 3.8 Study two | 第91-97页 |
| 3.8.1 Participants of study two | 第91-93页 |
| 3.8.2 Data collection of study two | 第93-95页 |
| 3.8.3 Procedure of study two | 第95-97页 |
| 3.9 Study three | 第97-101页 |
| 3.9.1 Participants of study three | 第97-98页 |
| 3.9.2 Data collection of study three | 第98-99页 |
| 3.9.3 Procedure of study three | 第99-101页 |
| 4. Results and discussion | 第101-153页 |
| 4.1 Results and discussion of study one | 第101-107页 |
| 4.1.1 Part one open-ended format of study one | 第101-105页 |
| 4.1.2 Part two judgment format of study one | 第105-107页 |
| 4.2 Results and discussion of study two | 第107-133页 |
| 4.2.1 Factors which contribute to social status | 第107-110页 |
| 4.2.2 Hierarchical rankings of social status | 第110-112页 |
| 4.2.3 Perceptions of politeness and acceptability of individual request utterances | 第112-126页 |
| 4.2.4 Attitudes towards acceptability of differing request strategies | 第126-133页 |
| 4.3 Results and discussion of study three | 第133-150页 |
| 4.3.1 Linguistic competence or pragmatic competence? | 第133-135页 |
| 4.3.2 Do English politeness strategies exist in the Chinese language? | 第135-136页 |
| 4.3.3 Is cultural difference the culprit? | 第136-140页 |
| 4.3.4 How do Chinese children learn about(im)politeness? | 第140-143页 |
| 4.3.5 Social norms | 第143-148页 |
| 4.3.6 Acceptable vs.polite | 第148-150页 |
| 4.4 In summary | 第150-153页 |
| 5. Conclusion | 第153-176页 |
| 5.1 Limitations of study | 第153-154页 |
| 5.2 Conclusion of research studies | 第154-159页 |
| 5.3 Why is it that Chinese learners appear rude in the eyes of native English speakers? | 第159-161页 |
| 5.4 Implications for English teaching in China | 第161-163页 |
| 5.5 Argument for teaching communicative competence in the English classroom | 第163-165页 |
| 5.6 Suggestions for bettering students' knowledge of other cultures | 第165-176页 |
| 5.6.1 Rigid teacher selection | 第165-167页 |
| 5.6.2 Immersion programs | 第167-168页 |
| 5.6.3 Learning through movies,dramas,and popular media | 第168-170页 |
| 5.6.4 Study abroad | 第170-172页 |
| 5.6.5 New and innovative testing methods | 第172-173页 |
| 5.6.6 Comprehensive English curriculum | 第173-176页 |
| References | 第176-184页 |
| Appendix A Pilot Questionnaire | 第184-186页 |
| Appendix B Questionnaire of study one | 第186-187页 |
| Appendix C Questionnaire of study two | 第187-196页 |
| Appendix D transcription of questionnaire response interviews | 第196-204页 |
| Appendix E transcription of interviews | 第204-219页 |
