Meaning of nurse merger | Babel Free
ˈnɚs ˌmɚd͡ʒɚDefinitions
A phonemic merger occuring in most present accents of English where historic /ɛr/, /ɪr/, /ʊr~ʌr/ are pronounced identically.
Examples
“Another point⟳ on which Smart insists is the distinction between serf and surf […] A distinction can of course be made, and without much difficulty, by those who think⟳ of it, and is made by those who have⟳ formed a habit of doing so; but the distinction is so rarely made as to amount almost to pedantry […]”
“Levelling of ME /irC/ and /urC/, which Orton assumes for the whole of the North (S. Durham §§411-13), has not taken place⟳ in Dent and S.We, where ME /urC/ remains (4:46).”
“In most Scottish accents the nurse merger has not occured, or has only partially occurred.”
CEFR level
B2
Upper Intermediate
This word is part of the CEFR B2 vocabulary — upper intermediate level.
This word is part of the CEFR B2 vocabulary — upper intermediate level.
Know this word better than we do? Language is a living thing — help us keep it growing. Collaborate with Babel Free