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