Abstract
The merger between the phonemes of NEAR/I/and SQUARE /ε/ is one of the most salient characteristics of New Zealand English. This paper summarises the results of a diachronic study which has tracked the merger in real time. Over the course of the study pronunciation of the diphthongs has progressively moved towards NEAR. Acoustic analyses are presented which support the auditory-perceptual analysis and indicate that the two diphthongs almost completely overlap in acoustic space. The clinical implications of the merger are explored.