Preface
前言
Chapter One  Introduction  (1)
   1.1  Object of the research  (1)
   1.2  Rationale for the research  (5)
   1.3  Significance of the research  (8)
   1.4  Methodology and data  (9)
   1.5  Organization of the book  (9)
Chapter Two  An Overview of Approaches to Vagueness
                                                                             11)
   2.1  Introduction  11)
   2.2  Etymology of “vague"  12)
   2.3  Vagueness and the Sorites Paradox: a historical
          survey  14)
   2.4  The philosophical approach to vagueness  18)
   2.5  The semantic approach to vagueness  (25)
      2.5.1  Vagueness, ambiguity, generality and
                epistemic failure  (25)
      2.5.2  Definition of vagueness  (32)
   2.6  The cognitive approach to vagueness  (34)
   2.7  Summary  (38)
Chapter Three  Pragmatic Vagueness  (39)

 3.1  Introduction  (39)
  3.2  The pragmatic vagueness/semantic vagueness
         distinction  (39)
     3.2.1  The pragmatics/semantics distinction  (40)
     3.2.2  Pragmatic vagueness versus semantic vagueness
                                                                           (47)
  3.3  A taxonomy of  pragmatic vagueness  (59)
     3.3.1  Quality-based pragmatic vagueness  (62)
     3.3.2  Quantity-based pragmatic vagueness  (66)
     3.3.3  Relation-based pragmatic vagueness  (71)
  3.4  Functions of pragmatic vagueness  (73)
   3.5  Summary  (77)
Chapter Four  A Review of the Pragmatic Literature on
                   Verbal Communication  (79 )
   4.1  Introduction  (79)
   4.2  Grice's co-operative principle  (80)
      4.2. I  The conversational maxims of co-operative
                principle  (81)
      4.2.2  Observance of the conversational maxims
                                                                            (84)
      4.2.3  Nonobservance of the conversational maxims
                                                                            (86)
   4.3  Adaptation theory  ......(93)
      4.3.1  Verschueren's interdisciplinary perspective
                 on language use  (95)
      4.3.2  Perspective view of language  (97)
      4.3.3  Linguistic choice-making and its key notions
                                                                             (99)

Preface 前言 Chapter One  Introduction  (1)    1.1  Object of the research  (1)    1.2  Rationale for the research  (5)    1.3  Significance of the research  (8)    1.4  Methodology and data  (9)    1.5  Organization of the book  (9) Chapter Two  An Overview of Approaches to Vagueness                ...