Cawishana (Kawishana, Kaishana) is an

Arawakan language Arawakan (''Arahuacan, Maipuran Arawakan, "mainstream" Arawakan, Arawakan proper''), also known as Maipurean (also ''Maipuran, Maipureano, Maipúre''), is a language family that developed among ancient indigenous peoples in South America. Branc ...

, presumably extinct, of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. A few speakers were reported in the 1950s, and today only one person can speak it. Aikhenvald (1999) classifies it as a Middle Rio Negro, North Amazonian language, along with Shiriana and Manao. Kaufman (1994) had placed it in a branch of Western Nawiki Upper Amazonian along with two long-extinct languages, Jumana (Yumana) and Pasé, which Aikhenvald leaves unclassified. It had an active–stative syntax.

References

Languages of Brazil Arawakan languages Extinct languages of South America {{Arawakan-lang-stub