definition of the word wine-whine_merger

• (RP) IPA: /(ðə) waɪnˈʍaɪn ˌmɜːʤə/

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) becomes [w] (the sound heard at the beginning of the word wine); in accents where this merger occurs, whine and wine are homophones.

• hole-whole merger
• wh-labiodentalization

Phonological history of wh on Wikipedia.Wikipedia:Phonological history of wh

• This page was last modified on 12 October 2007, at 10:25.
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