Jebero language

Not to be confused with Jibaro languages.

Jebero
Shiwilu
Native to	Peru
Region	Jeberos
Ethnicity	2,500 Jebero (2000)
Native speakers	30 (2012) [1]
Language family	Cahuapanan Jebero
Language codes
ISO 639-3	jeb
Glottolog	jebe1250
ELP	Shiwilu

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

Monophthongs of Jebero, from Valenzuela & Gussenhoven (2013 :101)

Monophthong phonemes ^[2]

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		u
Mid		ɘ
Open		a

• /i/ varies between close front unrounded [ i ], near-close front unrounded [ i̞ ] and close-mid front unrounded [ e ]. ^[2]
• /u/ varies between near-close near-front rounded [ ʊ ] and close-mid back weakly rounded [ o̜ ], with the latter realization being the most usual. ^[2]
• /ɘ/ varies between mid near-front unrounded [ ɛ̽ ] and close-mid central unrounded [ ɘ ]. ^[2]
  • /ɘ/ is shorter than the other vowels, particularly between voiceless consonants. ^[2]
  • The sequence /ɘn/ is sometimes realized as a syllabic [n̩]. ^[2]
• /a/ varies between open central unrounded [ ä ] and near-open retracted front [ æ̠ ]. ^[2] The vowel chart in Valenzuela & Gussenhoven (2013) puts /a/ in the near-open central position [ ɐ ].
  • In closed syllables, /a/ is realized as open-mid central unrounded [ ɜ ]. ^[2]

Consonants

Consonant phonemes ^[3]

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m	n	ɲ
Stop		p	t	tʃ	k	ʔ
Fricative			s	ʃ		( h )
Trill	plain		r
	glottalized		ˀr
Approximant	central	w	ð̞	j
	lateral		l	ʎ

• /m,p/ are bilabial, whereas /w/ is labialized velar.
• /tʃ/ is an affricate, rather than a plosive. ^[3] It has nevertheless been placed in the table in that manner to save space.
• /n,t,ð,l/ are laminal denti-alveolar [n̪, t̪, ð̪, l̪]. ^[4]
  • In the syllable coda, /n/ is realized with a wider contact, maximally dentoalveolo-velar [n̪͡ŋ]. ^[4]
  • After /u,a/, the denti-alveolar contact is often not made, which makes /n/ sound more like a velar nasal [ ŋ ]. ^[4]
  • /ð/ may sometimes sound as if it were a lateral consonant, but it is never realized as lateral. ^[2]
• /ɲ,ʎ/ are dentoalveolo-palatal [ɲ̪, ʎ̪]. ^[4]
  • /ʎ/ is sometimes realized as a weak fricative [ ʎ̪˔ ]. ^[2]
• /h/ occurs only in the affirmative interjection [ahã]. ^[3]
• /r/ is realized as a flap [ ɾ ] in the syllable onset and as a trill [ r ] in the syllable coda. ^[4]
• /ˀr/ is a glottalized flap [ ˀɾ ]. Intervocalically, it is realized as a sequence [ɾʔ]. ^[4]

References

1. Jebero at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
2. Valenzuela & Gussenhoven (2013), p. 101.
3. Valenzuela & Gussenhoven (2013), p. 98.
4. Valenzuela & Gussenhoven (2013), p. 100.

Bibliography

• Valenzuela, Pilar M.; Gussenhoven, Carlos (2013). "Shiwilu (Jebero)". Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 43 (1): 97–106. doi: 10.1017/S0025100312000370 .