| Acknowledgements | 第1-6页 |
| 中文摘要 | 第6-7页 |
| Abstract | 第7-11页 |
| 1. Introduction | 第11-13页 |
| ·Objectives of This Study | 第11页 |
| ·Thesis Structure | 第11-13页 |
| 2. Literature Review | 第13-26页 |
| ·Categorization Theory | 第13-17页 |
| ·Prototype Category Theory | 第13-15页 |
| ·Attributes of Categories | 第15-16页 |
| ·Levels of Categories | 第16-17页 |
| ·Linguistic Decategorization Theory | 第17-26页 |
| ·Decategorization and Grammaticalization | 第17-20页 |
| ·The Definition of Linguistic Decategorization | 第20页 |
| ·Features of Linguistic Decategorization | 第20-21页 |
| ·Working Mechanisms of Linguistic Decategorization | 第21-23页 |
| ·Targets of Research in Previous studies | 第23-24页 |
| ·Relation between Categorization and Decategorization | 第24-26页 |
| 3 A Theoretical Analysis on Liu's Definition of Linguistic Decategorization | 第26-30页 |
| ·Limitations of Liu's Definition of Linguistic Decategorization | 第26-29页 |
| ·Redefining the Term Linguistic Decategorization | 第29-30页 |
| 4. A Theoretical Analysis on the Evolving Process of Linguistic Decategorization | 第30-39页 |
| ·Features of Linguistic Decategorization | 第30-33页 |
| ·Dynamic and Gradual | 第30-31页 |
| ·Uneven at multi-levels | 第31-32页 |
| ·Context-dependent and Unpredictable | 第32-33页 |
| ·Demarcating the Evolving Process of Linguistic Decategorization | 第33-36页 |
| ·Features of Linguistic Entities in Three stages | 第36-39页 |
| ·Stage Ⅰ:Old Categorial Attributes Dominate | 第36-37页 |
| ·Stage Ⅱ:More Attributes of the New Category Obtained | 第37页 |
| ·Stage Ⅲ:Relatively Stable Attributes of the New Category | 第37-39页 |
| 5. An exemplification of the Evolving Process by Studying the Chinese Character Mao(毛) | 第39-49页 |
| ·Reasons for Choosing the Chinese Character Mao(毛)as an Example | 第39-40页 |
| ·An Analysis on the Evolving Process of the Chinese Character Mao(毛) | 第40-49页 |
| ·A Description of the Evolving Process of the Chinese Character Mao(毛) | 第40-42页 |
| ·Discussion | 第42-48页 |
| ·Findings | 第48-49页 |
| 6. Conclusion | 第49-51页 |
| References | 第51-54页 |
