The Cot-Caught Merger

In Californian English, the vowels in "cot" (/ɑ/) and "caught" (/ɔ/) have merged into a single vowel. This means Californians pronounce both words the same way.

GenAm distinction:

• "cot" = /kɑt/ (open back unrounded)
• "caught" = /kɔt/ (open-mid back rounded)

Californian merger:

• Both = /kɑt/ (they sound identical)

This also affects pairs like: Don/Dawn, stock/stalk, bot/bought.

Many younger Americans across the US are also merging these vowels, but California led the trend.