wine-whine merger
wine-whine merger · wine-whine mergers
A merger in which [ʍ] becomes [w]A merger in which [ʍ] (the voiceless 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.
UK/waɪnˈwaɪn ˌmɜːdʒə(ɹ)/US/waɪnˈʍaɪn ˌmɝdʒɚ/
Meaning
1 sensesA merger in which [ʍ] (the voiceless 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.
Forms
plural: wine-whine mergers| Singular | wine-whine merger |
|---|---|
| Plural | wine-whine mergers |
regular
Word family
1 related wordsRelatedlabiodentalization