low back merger
English edit
Noun edit
low back merger (plural low back mergers)
- (phonology) The cot-caught merger.
- 1994, William Labov, Principles of Linguistic Change, volume 3:
- The low back merger is one possible outcome of a series of triggering events outlined in Chapter 5, but it is itself the triggering event for a variety of further consequences for the English vowel system.