wine-whine merger English

Meaning wine-whine merger meaning

What does wine-whine merger mean?

wine-whine merger noun

— (phonology) A merger in which Voiceless labiovelar approximant (the sound heard at the beginning of the word whine in a Scottish accent or several accents in the United States) becomes Voiced labiovelar approximant (the sound heard at the beginning of the word wine); in accents where this merger occurs, whine and wine are homophones.