wine-whine merger

{{phonology}} A merger in which {{IPAchar|?}} (the sound heard at the beginning of the word {{term|whine}} in a Scottish accent or several accents in the United States) becomes {{IPAchar|w}} (the sound heard at the beginning of the word {{term|wine}}); in accents where this merger occurs, {{term|whine}} and {{term|wine}} are homophones.