Abishira language
Encyclopedia
Tequiraca also known as Abishira (Avishiri)*, is a language spoken in Peru
. In 1925 there were between 50 and 80 speakers in Puerto Elvira on Lake Vacacocha (connected with the Napo River
). It had been presumed extinct some time in the mid 20th century, but in 2010 a few speakers or semi-speakers were found.
The little data available show it to not be closely related to other languages, though a distant connection to Canichana
was proposed by Kaufman (1994).
* Other spellings are Auishiri, Agouisiri, Avirxiri, Abiquira, Abigira; it has also been called Ixignor and Vacacocha.
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. In 1925 there were between 50 and 80 speakers in Puerto Elvira on Lake Vacacocha (connected with the Napo River
Napo River
The Napo is a tributary to the Amazon River that rises in Ecuador on the flanks of the volcanoes of Antisana, Sincholagua and Cotopaxi.The total length of 1075 km. Catchment area of 100,518 square kilometers...
). It had been presumed extinct some time in the mid 20th century, but in 2010 a few speakers or semi-speakers were found.
The little data available show it to not be closely related to other languages, though a distant connection to Canichana
Canichana language
Canichana, or Canesi, is a possible language isolate of Bolivia . As of 1991 there were 500 Canichana people, but only 20 spoke the Canichana language; by 2000 the ethnic population was 583, but the language was extinct.-References:...
was proposed by Kaufman (1994).
Sources
- Harald Hammarström, 2010, 'The status of the least documented language families in the world'. In Language Documentation & Conservation, v 4, p 183http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/4478/hammarstrom.pdf
- Alain Fabre, 2005, Diccionario etnolingüístico y guía bibliográfica de los pueblos indígenas sudamericanos: AWSHIRIhttp://butler.cc.tut.fi/~fabre/BookInternetVersio/Dic=Awshiri.pdf