Molala language


Molala is the extinct and poorly attested Plateau Penutian language of the Molala people of Oregon and Washington. It is first attested along the Deschutes River, and later moved to the Molalla and Santiam rivers, and to the headwaters of the Umpqua and Rogue rivers. It was once thought to be close to Cayuse.

Dialects

There were three known dialects:
The phonology of the Molala language:

Consonants

Vowels

ShortLong
Closei
Opena~e
Backu

/i/ and /a/ can also shift to /ə/.

Grammar

Molala is a verb-heavy polysynthetic language.

Case

Molala nouns have seven cases: nominative, accusative, genitive, instrumental, locative, allative, and ablative.