Chain shifting in (Jewish) Bukharan Tajik vowels

What is it about?

The present article describes the vowel chain shift that occurred in the variety of Tajik spoken by Jewish residents in Bukhara. It identifies the chain shift as constituting of an intermediate stage of the Northern Tajik chain shift and accordingly tentatively concludes that in the Northern Tajik chain shift Early New Persian ā shifted before ō did, shedding light on the process whereby the present-day Tajik vowel system was established.

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Why is it important?

The paper shows that 1) the Northern Tajik chain shift unfolded in this order: ā→ɔ, ɔ→o, o→ɵ, and 2) the latter two shifts did not occur until the 19th century in Bukhara.