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
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varies between close front unrounded , near-close front unrounded and close-mid front unrounded .
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varies between near-close near-front rounded and close-mid back weakly rounded , with the latter realization being the most usual.
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varies between mid near-front unrounded and close-mid central unrounded .
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is shorter than the other vowels, particularly between voiceless consonants.
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The sequence is sometimes realized as a syllabic .
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varies between open central unrounded and near-open retracted front . The vowel chart in puts in the near-open central position .
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In closed syllables, is realized as open-mid central unrounded .
Consonants
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are bilabial, whereas is labialized velar.
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is an affricate, rather than a plosive. It has nevertheless been placed in the table in that manner to save space.
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are laminal denti-alveolar .
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In the syllable coda, is realized with a wider contact, maximally dentoalveolo-velar .
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After , the denti-alveolar contact is often not made, which makes sound more like a velar nasal .
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may sometimes sound as if it were a lateral consonant, but it is never realized as lateral.
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are dentoalveolo-palatal .
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is sometimes realized as a weak fricative .
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occurs only in the affirmative interjection .
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is realized as a Flap consonant in the syllable onset and as a trill in the syllable coda.
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is a glottalized flap . Intervocalically, it is realized as a sequence .
Bibliography