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Definition 2024


wine–whine_merger

wine-whine merger

English

Noun

wine-whine merger (plural wine-whine mergers)

  1. (phonology) A merger in which ʍ] (the sound heard at the beginning of the word whine in a Scottish accent or several accents in the United States) becomes w] (the sound heard at the beginning of the word wine); in accents where this merger occurs, whine and wine are homophones.

See also

  • wh labiodentalization

References