Kalapuyan is a small, extinct language family that was spoken in the Willamette Valley of western Oregon, comprising three languages: Northern Kalapuya (Tualatin-Yamhill), Central Kalapuya and Yoncalla (Southern Kalapuya). The family is tentatively connected to the Penutian proposals, though the relationship remains debated. The last speaker of Central Kalapuya died around 1954, but descendants of Yoncalla Kalapuya speakers have undertaken revival efforts, including publishing a dictionary.
Facts
RegionWillamette Valley of western Oregon, United States. 1 Speaker CountThe family is described as extinct in its entirety. A revival movement among Kalapuya descendants in Yoncalla, Oregon has produced a dictionary but no reported living native speakers. Proto-Language StatusA set of Proto-Kalapuyan lexical reconstructions was published by Shipley (1970), covering the family's three constituent languages. 1 In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Kalapuyan Languages
Wikimedia FoundationLead section, first sentence
Kalapuyan (also Kalapuya) is a small extinct language family that was spoken in the Willamette Valley of Western Oregon, United States.
Lead section, second sentence
The Kalapuya language is currently in a state of revival.
Proto-language section
Below is a list of Proto-Kalapuyan reconstructions by Shipley (1970)
View the Source Wikidata: Kalapuyan
Wikidata Q1569040, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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