Yeꞌkuana language

Yeꞌkuana (Yeꞌkuana: [jeʔkwana]), also known as Maquiritari, Dekwana, Yeꞌkwana, Yeꞌcuana, Yekuana, Cunuana, Kunuhana, Deꞌcuana, Deꞌkwana Carib, Pawana, Maquiritai, Maquiritare, Maiongong, or Soto is the language of the Yeꞌkuana people of Venezuela and Brazil. It is a Cariban language. It is spoken by approximately 5,900 people (c. 2001) around the border of northwestern Brazilian state of Roraima and Venezuela – the majority (about 5,500) in Venezuela. At the time of the 2001 Venezuelan census, there were at 6,523 Yeꞌkuana living in Venezuela. Given the unequal distribution of the Yeꞌkuana across two South American countries, Ethnologue lists two different vitality ratings for Yeꞌkuana: in Venezuela it is listed as Vigorous (6a), while in Brazil it is classified Moribund (8a) on the Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (GIDS).