CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABSTRACT
摘要
Chapter One INTRODUCTION-1
1.1 Background of the Study-1
1.2 Objectives of the Study-2
1.3 Significance of the Study-2
1.4 Structure of the Thesis-4
Chapter Two LITERATURE REVIEW-5
2.1 Theoretical Studies on Intensifiers-5
2.1.1 Definitions of Intensifiers-5
2.1.2 Classifications of Intensifiers-7
2.2 Empirical Studies on Intensifiers-7
2.2.1 Research on L1’s Use of Intensifiers-8
2.2.2 Research on L2’s Use of Intensifiers-8
2.3 Summary-9
Chapter Three METHODOLOGY-10
3.1 Theoretical Framework of the Thesis-10
3.1.1 Amplifiers-11
3.1.2 Downtoners-11
3.2 Research Questions-13
3.3 Corpus-13
3.4 Intensifiers to be Studied-14
3.5 Data Analysis-15
3.5.1 Instrument-16
3.5.2 Procedures-16
3.6 Summary-17
Chapter Four RESULTS AND DISCUSSION-18
4.1 Chinese English Majors’ General Use of Adv-intensifiers in Writing-18
4.2 Chinese English Majors’ Use of Amplifiers in Writing-19
4.2.1 Chinese English Majors’ Use of Maximizers in Writing-19
4.2.2 Chinese English Majors’ Use of Boosters in Writing-24
4.3 Chinese English Majors’ Use of Downtoners in Writing-28
4.3.1 Chinese English Majors’ Use of Approximators in Writing-28
4.3.2 Chinese English Majors’ Use of Compromisers in Writing-31
4.3.3 Chinese English Majors’ Use of Diminishers in Writing-34
4.3.4 Chinese English Majors’ Use of Minimizers in Writing-37
4.4 Summary-39
Chapter Five CONCLUSION-41
5.1 Major Findings of the Study-41
5.2 Implications of the Study-42
5.3 Limitations of the Study-43
5.4 Recommendations for Future Research-43
References-45
