Mawayana language
Mawayana, also known as Mapidian, is a moribund Arawakan language of northern South America. It used to be spoken by people living in ethnic Wai-wai and Tiriyó villages in Brazil, Guyana and Suriname. As of 2015, the last two speakers of the language are living in Kwamalasamutu. A few rememberers exist who do not use it on a daily basis.
Classification
lists Mawayana together with Wapishana under a Rio Branco branch of the Arawakan family. notes that Mawayana "is closely related to Wapishana" and according to they share at least 47% of their lexicon.Phonology
Mawayana has, among its consonants, two implosives, and, and what has been described as a "retroflex fricativised rhotic", represented with, that it shares with Wapishana. The vowel systems contains four vowels, each of which has a nasalised counterpart.Vowels
Mawayana vowel phonemes:| Front | Central | Back | |
| Close | ~ | ||
| Close-mid | ~ | ||
| Open |
Vowels have both nasal and length contrast.