Bukharan Tajik — Pronunciation for English Speakers
This guide is based on a phoneme-by-phoneme comparison of Bukharan Tajik and English. Bukharan Tajik and English share 13 sounds — about 45% of Bukharan Tajik's inventory. The remaining sounds are where English speakers will need to focus their practice.
Sounds to learn from scratch (16)
These phonemes exist in Bukharan Tajik but not in English. English speakers will need to learn to produce and perceive them as new categories — not just a variation of an existing English sound.
Familiar sounds (13)
These phonemes exist in both Bukharan Tajik and English. You already produce and perceive them — though they may appear in different positions or syllable structures.
English sounds not used in Bukharan Tajik (32)
These English phonemes don't exist in Bukharan Tajik. Native Bukharan Tajik speakers learning English will face the reverse challenge with these sounds.