Molala language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Molala |
|
|---|---|
| Molale | |
| Native to | United States |
| Region | Central Oregon and Washington |
| Ethnicity | Molala people |
| Extinct | 1958e18 with the death of Fred Yelkes (1885–1958) |
| Language family |
Plateau Penutian
|
Molala (also called Molele or Molalla) was a language spoken by the Molala people. They lived in parts of Oregon and Washington in the United States.
Sadly, the Molala language is now extinct. This means that no one speaks it anymore as their native language. The last known speaker, Fred Yelkes, passed away in 1958. Molala belongs to a group of languages called Plateau Penutian.
The Molala language was first spoken along the Deschutes River. Over time, the Molala people moved, and their language was then heard near the Molalla and Santiam rivers. It was also spoken near the beginnings of the Umpqua and Rogue rivers.
Dialects
A dialect is a different way of speaking the same language. It's like how people in different parts of a country might use slightly different words or pronunciations. The Molala language had three main dialects:
- Northern Molala: This dialect was spoken in the southern part of Oregon, specifically in the Cascade Mountain Range.
- Upper Santiam Molala: This dialect was spoken along the upper Santiam River in the central Oregon Cascades.
- Southern Molala: This dialect was also spoken in southern Oregon, in the Cascade Mountain Range.
See also
In Spanish: Idioma molala para niños
