| Introduction | 第1-8页 |
| Chapter One Related Works on Ambiguity | 第8-19页 |
| 1．1 Linguistic Researches on Ambiguity | 第8-11页 |
| 1．1．1 Phonetic or Phonological Ambiguity | 第8页 |
| 1．1．2 Lexical Ambiguity | 第8-9页 |
| 1．1．3 Syntactic Ambiguity | 第9-11页 |
| 1．2 Non- linguistic Researches on Ambiguity | 第11-13页 |
| 1．3 Related Theories to Be Adopted | 第13-19页 |
| 1．3．1 The Theory of Adaptation | 第13页 |
| 1．3．2 The Speech Act Theory | 第13-16页 |
| 1．3．3 The Prototype Theory | 第16-19页 |
| Chapter Two Manifestation of Ambiguity | 第19-32页 |
| 2．1 Ambiguity and Vagueness | 第19-23页 |
| 2．1．1． Related Studies on Vagueness | 第19-22页 |
| 2．1．2． Vagueness and Markedness | 第22-23页 |
| 2．2 Reclassification of Ambiguity | 第23-32页 |
| 2．2．1 Unintentional Ambiguity | 第24-28页 |
| 2．2．2 Intentional Ambiguity | 第28-32页 |
| Chapter Three Ambiguity in Different Social Contexts | 第32-52页 |
| 3．1 Language and Meaning | 第33-35页 |
| 3．2． Language and Socialization | 第35-40页 |
| 3．2．1 Linguistic Choices and Social Institutions | 第36-37页 |
| 3．2．2 The General Picture of Linguistic Context | 第37-40页 |
| 3．3 Context and Ambiguity | 第40-52页 |
| 3．3．1 Ambiguity and Shared Knowledge | 第41-44页 |
| 3．3．2 Ambiguity and Cultural Knowledge | 第44-49页 |
| 3．3．3 Ambiguity and Registers and Dialects | 第49-50页 |
| 3．3．4 Ambiguity and Language Varieties | 第50-52页 |
| Chapter Four The Positive Effects of Ambiguity | 第52-60页 |
| 4．1 General Remarks of Humor and Ambiguity | 第52-55页 |
| 4．1．1 Humor and Phonological Ambiguity | 第52-53页 |
| 4．1．2 Humor and Lexical Ambiguity | 第53-54页 |
| 4．1．3 Humor and Syntactic Ambiguity | 第54-55页 |
| 4．2 Humorous Effects of Ambiguity | 第55-60页 |
| 4．2．1 In Interpersonal Communication | 第55-57页 |
| 4．2．2 In Literature | 第57-58页 |
| 4．2．3 In Advertisements | 第58-60页 |
| Chapter Five Conclusions | 第60-62页 |
| Bibliography | 第62-65页 |
| Acknowledgments | 第65页 |
