/v/-/w/ merger

The contrast between /v/ and /w/ is often neutralized or merged in the Eastern Caribbean. That is, many dialects of Caribbean English (e.g. Bahamian, Bermudan, and Vincentian) may alternate [w], [ß] (the voiced bilabial fricative), or [ʋ]  (the voiced labiodental approximant) for words which in metropolitan varieties begin with [v], e.g. village [wɪlɪʤ]. This feature may be related to component dialect varieties of English heard in the Caribbean in the 18^th century which contain this same alternation (e.g. Cockney) or possibly to African languages that lacked the /v/ segment. Some Anglophone Caribbean communities may reveal /b/ where metropolitan Anglophone varieties display /v/, e.g. vex “angry” [bεks], river [rɪba], and love [lΛb].