Classifiers in Shiwilu (Kawapanan) in Northwestern Amazonian Perspective

Kawapanan is a little-known linguistic family from northwestern Amazonia composed of two languages, Shiwilu and Shawi. This article offers the first detailed account of a Kawapanan classifier system. Shiwilu classifying morphemes are analyzed in terms of their semantics, morphosyntax, and functions. In addition to describing a central property of a vanishing language, this work seeks to contribute to the discussion on the nominal categorization mechanisms of northwestern Amazonia, a topic especially relevant for linguistic typology and our understanding of language contact and areality in South America.