# tonogenesis

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. A process in which a language develops tones.

## Etymology
From tono- + -genesis; coined by American linguist James Matisoff in 1970 in his paper Glottal dissimilation and the Lahu high-rising tone: A tonogenetic case-study.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/tonogenesis