Meanings
- uncountablehuman sciencesThe process in which a language that lacks pitch registers gains them.
These two evolutionary paths are strikingly illustrated by the different responses given by Chinese to two distinct waves of registrogenesis, the first time at the stage of Old Chinese, the second time at the stage of Late Middle Chinese.
2012, Thomas Stolz, Monosyllables: From Phonology to Typology, page 1241 more example
Eventually, the nonphonemic suprasegmental features became phonemic tonal distinctions as other sound changes occurred, such as loss of finals and changes in voicing of the initials. However, Haudricourt did not, at that time, have much access to information about the possible effects of phonation on Vietnamese tones and registrogenesis.
1995, M Alves, “Tonal features and the development of Vietnamese tones”, in Working Papers in Linguistics: Department of University of Hawaii at Manoa, volume 27
Cite this entry
registrogenesis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/registrogenesis
“registrogenesis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/registrogenesis. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “registrogenesis,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/registrogenesis.
Source: registrogenesis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.