Meaning of registrogenesis | Babel Free

Definitions

The process in which a language that lacks pitch registers gains them.

uncountable

Examples

“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.”

“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.”

CEFR level