merger

合併、統合

別々だった二つ以上の集団や物が、一つにまとまること。

やさしい英語で： The joining of two or more separate groups or things into one.

• The two banks announced a merger.
• Staff worried about jobs after the company merger.
• Will the proposed merger create a larger team?

使い方： merger of A and B (The merger of the two clubs created a stronger team.); merger between A and B (They announced a merger between the two banks.); merger with something (The company approved a merger with its largest rival.)

類義語： combination, union

反対語： split

よく使う表現： a company merger, a proposed merger, approve a merger

音韻合流

言語の変化で、以前は異なっていた音が同じ音になること。

やさしい英語で： A change in language in which different speech sounds become the same sound.

• This dialect has a vowel merger.
• The merger makes those two words sound identical.
• Researchers traced the merger across several generations of speakers.

使い方： merger of A and B (The merger of these vowels is common in this dialect.)

反対語： split

よく使う表現： vowel merger, a phonemic merger