DjeoromitxiorJabutí (Yabuti) is an endangeredYabutian language that is spoken by only about fifty people (though including some children) in Rondônia, Brazil, at the headwaters of the Rio Branco.
According to Pires (1992), [ɸ] is an allophone of /p/ before high and medium round vowels, and [ɲ] is an allophone of /n/ following the high nasal vowel /ĩ/.
While /ps/ and /bz/ only occur before /i/, they are contrastive with the other bilabial obstruents.[5]
According to Ribeiro and van der Voort (2010), /k/ is backed to [q] before [ʉ] and often aspirated before /ə/ and /u/. They state that /p/ is realized as [ɸ] or [pɸ] before back vowels and [ʉ].
When preceded by a personal prefix, or when starting the second element of a compound, /h/ becomes /r/. With some roots, /h/ can become /n/ in a similar manner.[6]
Djeoromitxí has nouns, verbs, adverbs and particles, with adjectives treated as intransitive verbs. Its syntax is noun-modifier and SOVorOVS in order.[8]
The following examples demonstrate noun-modifier and SOV word order.
Ribeiro, Eduardo; van der Voort, Hein (2010). "Nimuendajú was right: The inclusion of the Jabutí language family in the Macro-Jê stock". International Journal of American Linguistics. 76 (4): 517–570.
