/o/ & /ω/ phonemic merger: reasons, process, result

The paper examines the synchronic merger of vowels /o/ and /ω/ in Russian regional dialect of villages Kay and Juzhaki (Kirov Region, North East of European Russia). In particular, it attempts to answer the questions: What is the motivation for the sound change? How do mergers develop? What is the result of this phonological process? These problems are solved using phonological, acoustic and perception analyses.