Chapter 1 Introduction 1
1.1 The nature of this study 1
1.2 Background 6
1.3 Research questions 8
1.4 Research objectives 8
1.5 Organization of this book 9
Chapter 2 Literature Review 11
2.1 Studies ofaddress forms,openings and closings in interaction 11
2.2 Unresolved issues and research opportunities 48
2.3 Concluding remarks 51
Chapter 3 Methodology 52
3.1 Introduction 52
3.2 Data collection 52
3.3 Data analysis 65
3.4 Concluding remarks 87
Chapter 4 Address Forms in Chinese Personal Letters 88
4.1 Introduction 88
4.2 Address forms and functions in Chinese personal letters 88
4.3 Address forms and social variables 104
4.4 Concluding remarks 128
Chapter 5 Openings in Chinese Personal Letters 130
5.1 Introduction 130
5.2 Opening strategies 130
5.3 Opening types 162
5.4 Openings and social variables 190
5.5 Concluding remarks 214
Chapter 6 Closings in Chinese Personal Letters 216
6.1 Introduction 216
6.2 Closing strategies 216
6.3 Closing types 237
6.4 Combined closings and letter types 267
6.5 Closings and social variables 268
6.6 Concluding remarks 289
Chapter 7 Conclusion 291
7.1 Introduction 291
7.2 Major findings of the study 291
7.3 Significance of this study 303
7.4 Limitations of this study 311
7.5 Directions for future research 312
References 315
