Jebero language explained
| Jebero |
| Nativename: | Shiwilu |
| States: | Peru |
| Region: | Jeberos |
| Ethnicity: | 2,500 (2000) |
| Speakers: | 30 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| Ref: | e25 |
| Familycolor: | American |
| Fam1: | Cahuapanan |
| Iso3: | jeb |
| Glotto: | jebe1250 |
| Glottorefname: | Jebero |
Jebero (Chebero, Xebero, Xihuila) is a moribund Amazonian language spoken by the Jebero people of Jeberos, Peru. It is spoken by only a small number of older adults and belongs to the Cahuapanan family together with Chayahuita.
Phonology
Vowels
- pronounced as //i// varies between close front unrounded pronounced as /link/, near-close front unrounded pronounced as /link/ and close-mid front unrounded pronounced as /link/.
- pronounced as //u// varies between near-close near-front rounded pronounced as /link/ and close-mid back weakly rounded pronounced as /link/, with the latter realization being the most usual.
- pronounced as //ɘ// varies between mid near-front unrounded pronounced as /link/ and close-mid central unrounded pronounced as /link/.
- pronounced as //ɘ// is shorter than the other vowels, particularly between voiceless consonants.
- The sequence pronounced as //ɘn// is sometimes realized as a syllabic pronounced as /[n̩]/.
- pronounced as //a// varies between open central unrounded pronounced as /link/ and near-open retracted front pronounced as /link/. The vowel chart in puts pronounced as //a// in the near-open central position pronounced as /link/.
- In closed syllables, pronounced as //a// is realized as open-mid central unrounded pronounced as /link/.
Consonants
! Labial! Alveolar! Palatal! Velar! Glottal| Nasal | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | | |
|---|
| Stop | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ |
|---|
| Fricative | | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | | (pronounced as /link/) |
|---|
| Trill | | | pronounced as /link/ | | | |
|---|
| | pronounced as /link/ | | | |
|---|
| Approximant | | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | | |
|---|
| | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | | | |
|---|
- pronounced as //m, p// are bilabial, whereas pronounced as //w// is labialized velar.
- pronounced as //tʃ// is an affricate, rather than a plosive. It has nevertheless been placed in the table in that manner to save space.
- pronounced as //n, t, ð, l// are laminal denti-alveolar pronounced as /[{{IPAplink|n̪}}, {{IPAplink|t̪}}, {{IPAplink|ð̞|ð̪}}, {{IPAplink|l̪}}]/.
- In the syllable coda, pronounced as //n// is realized with a wider contact, maximally dentoalveolo-velar pronounced as /[n̪͡ŋ]/.
- After pronounced as //u, a//, the denti-alveolar contact is often not made, which makes pronounced as //n// sound more like a velar nasal pronounced as /link/.
- pronounced as //ð// may sometimes sound as if it were a lateral consonant, but it is never realized as lateral.
- pronounced as //ɲ, ʎ// are dentoalveolo-palatal pronounced as /[{{IPAplink|ɲ|ɲ̪}}, {{IPAplink|ʎ|ʎ̪}}]/.
- pronounced as //ʎ// is sometimes realized as a weak fricative pronounced as /link/.
- pronounced as //h// occurs only in the affirmative interjection pronounced as /[ahã]/.
- pronounced as //r// is realized as a flap pronounced as /link/ in the syllable onset and as a trill pronounced as /link/ in the syllable coda.
- pronounced as //ˀr// is a glottalized flap pronounced as /link/. Intervocalically, it is realized as a sequence pronounced as /[ɾʔ]/.
