| Abstract | 第1-6页 |
| 摘要 | 第6-7页 |
| List of Tables | 第7-9页 |
| List of Figures | 第9-10页 |
| Abbreviations | 第10-13页 |
| Chapter One:Introduction | 第13-18页 |
| ·Motivation of the Study | 第13页 |
| ·Research Questions | 第13-14页 |
| ·Research Methodology | 第14-15页 |
| ·Significance of the Study | 第15-16页 |
| ·Problems and Tentative Solutions | 第16页 |
| ·Organization of the Thesis | 第16-17页 |
| Notes | 第17-18页 |
| Chapter Two:Literature Review | 第18-35页 |
| ·Previous Accounts of Third Tone Sandhi in Beijing Chinese from Phonetic Perspective | 第18-24页 |
| ·Acoustic Studies on Third Tone Sandhi in Beijing Chinese | 第19-23页 |
| ·Perceptual Studies on Third Tone Sandhi in Beijing Chinese | 第23-24页 |
| ·Previous Accounts of Third Tone Sandhi in Beijing Chinese from Phonological Perspective | 第24-32页 |
| ·Descriptive Studies on Third Tone Sandhi in Beijing Chinese | 第25-26页 |
| ·Interpretative Studies on Third Tone Sandhi in Beijing Chinese | 第26-32页 |
| ·Summary | 第32-34页 |
| NoteS | 第34-35页 |
| Chapter Three:Theoretical Framework | 第35-42页 |
| ·Basic Assumptions of Optimality Theory | 第35-36页 |
| ·The Architecture of an OT Grammar | 第36-39页 |
| ·Reasons for adopting Optimality Theory | 第39-40页 |
| ·The Application of Optimality Theory on Third Tone Sandhi in Beijing Chinese | 第40-41页 |
| Notes | 第41-42页 |
| Chapter Four:Experimental Description of Third Tone Sandhi in Beijing Chinese | 第42-69页 |
| ·Rationale of the Phonetic Experiment | 第42页 |
| ·About the Experiment | 第42-46页 |
| ·Selection of Informants | 第42-43页 |
| ·Test Materials and Recordings | 第43-44页 |
| ·Processing of Data | 第44页 |
| ·Measurement | 第44-46页 |
| ·Experimental Results | 第46-67页 |
| ·Tones in Citation Syllables | 第46-49页 |
| ·The Third Tone Sandhi in Disyllabic Sequences | 第49-52页 |
| ·The Third Tone Sandhi in Trisyllabic Sequences | 第52-57页 |
| ·The Third Tone Sandhi in Quadrisyllabic Sequences | 第57-67页 |
| ·Summary | 第67-68页 |
| Notes | 第68-69页 |
| Chapter Five:An OT Analysis of Third Tone Sandhi in Beijing Chinese | 第69-87页 |
| ·OT Analysis of the Third Tone Sandhi in Disyllabic Sequences | 第69-72页 |
| ·Underlying Representation | 第69-70页 |
| ·Constraints | 第70-71页 |
| ·Ranking of the Constraints | 第71-72页 |
| ·OT Evaluation of the Third Tone Sandhi in Disyllabic Sequences | 第72页 |
| ·OT Analysis of the Third Tone Sandhi in Multisyllabic Sequences | 第72-85页 |
| ·Chen's Model (2000) | 第72-74页 |
| ·Minimal Rhythmic Units | 第74-77页 |
| ·OT Analysis of the Third Tone Sandhi in Trisyllabic Sequences | 第77-80页 |
| ·OT Analysis of the Third Tone Sandhi in Quadrisyllabic Sequences | 第80-85页 |
| ·Summary | 第85-86页 |
| Notes | 第86-87页 |
| Chapter Six:Conclusion | 第87-90页 |
| ·Major findings of the Study | 第87-88页 |
| ·Implications for Tone Sandhi Research | 第88-89页 |
| ·Limitations of the present study and suggestions for further research | 第89页 |
| Notes | 第89-90页 |
| Bibliography | 第90-95页 |
| Appendix Ⅰ. Speech Materials for Recording | 第95-100页 |
| Appendix Ⅱ.Waveforms,Spectrograms and F0 Contours of the Test Materials | 第100-107页 |
| Published Paper and Research Practice | 第107-108页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第108页 |
