# Djeoromitxí language

Djeoromitxi or Jabutí (Yabuti) is an endangered Yabutian language that is spoken by only about fifty people (though including some children) in Rondônia, Brazil, at the headwaters of the Rio Branco.

## Phonology

There is no tonal system in Djeoromitxí and accent is not contrastive. Morphophonological processes are rare.
Syllable structure follows a (C)V pattern.

### Consonants

The table below shows the consonant phonemes of Djeoromitxí according to Ribeiro and van der Voort (2010).
Although Pires (1992) counts /b/ /d/ as distinct phonemes, Ribeiro and van der Voort (2010) count them as allophones of /m/ /n/ before oral vowels.
Consonants :
| | | Labial | Alveolar | Velar | Glottal |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | | |
| Plosive | Plosive | p | t | k | |
| Affricate | voiceless | ps | tʃ | | |
| Affricate | voiced | bz | dʒ | | |
| Fricative | Fricative | | | | h |
| Approximant | Approximant | w | | | |
| Trill/Tap | Trill/Tap | | r | | |
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.
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.

### Vowels

The tables below show the vowel phonemes of Djeoromitxí according to Ribeiro and van der Voort (2010).
The accounts of Pires (1992) and Ribeiro and van der Voort (2010) basically agree on the vowel phonemes.
Oral Vowels :
| | Front | Central | Back |
| Close | i | ʉ | u |
| Close-mid | | ə | |
| Open-mid | ɛ | | ɔ |
| Open | | a | |
Nasal Vowels :
| | Front | Central | Back |
| Close | ĩ | | |
| Open-mid | ɛ̃ | | ɔ̃ |
| Open | | ã | |
According to Pires (1992), [ũ] is an allophone of /õ/ in free variation with [õ] after /h/.
Ribeiro and van der Voort (2010) state that /ʉ/ is often realized as [ø].

## Grammar

Djeoromitxí has nouns, verbs, adverbs and particles, with adjectives treated as intransitive verbs. Its syntax is noun-modifier and SOV or OVS in order.
The following examples demonstrate noun-modifier and SOV word order.
paku
woman
nõtʃi
old
Ø-
3-
hukʉkʉ
leave
paku nõtʃi Ø- hukʉkʉ
woman old 3- leave
'The old woman left'
adʒɛ
you
na
3
ri
DAT
kuka
fruit
õ
give
adʒɛ na ri kuka õ
you 3 DAT fruit give
'You give the fruit to him'

### Pronouns and person markers

The following table shows Djeoromitxí pronominal forms.
| | Pronoun | Possessive/Preposition | Intransitive subject | Transitive subject | Transitive object |
| 1st person singular | hʉ | — | — | hʉ | — |
| 2nd person | adʒɛ | a- | a- | adʒɛ | a-/adʒɛ |
| 3rd person | na | i-/N | i-/na/N | na/N | i-/N |
| 1st person plural | hirʉ | hi- | hi- | hirʉ | hi- |
| Impersonal | — | hi- | — | — | i-/ɛ- |
The use of the forms is illustrated in the following examples:
hʉ
I
hamə
tired
hʉ hamə
I tired
'I'm tired'
adʒɛ
you
a-
2-
ramə
tired
adʒɛ a- ramə
you 2- tired
'You're tired'
nikʉ
field
nikʉ
field
'my planted field (with maize)'
i-
3-
rawa
flower
i- rawa
3- flower
'(its) flower'
hʉ
I
a-
2-
tʉmi
beat
adʒɛ
you
hʉ a- tʉmi adʒɛ
I 2- beat you
'I'm going to beat you'
hʉ
I
i-
3-
tɛ
bring
a-
2-
ri
DAT
i-
3-
ũ
give
adʒɛ
you
hʉ i- tɛ a- ri i- ũ adʒɛ
I 3- bring 2- DAT 3- give you
'I brought it to give to you'