The Kalapuya language is currently in a state of revival. Kalapuyan descendants in the southernmost Kalapuya region of Yoncalla, Oregon, published 100 copies of a comprehensive dictionary, with plans to expand.[2][3]
One of the boulders engraved with Kalapuyan words along the paths of east Alton Baker Park in Eugene, Oregon; this one is next to the Willamette River: Whilamut (meaning, Where the river ripples and runs fast)
Kalapuyan is usually connected with the various Penutian proposals. This was originally part of an Oregon Penutian branch along with Takelma, Siuslaw, Alsea and Coosan.[4] A special relationship with Takelma had been proposed, together forming a "Takelma–Kalapuyan" or "Takelman" family.[5][6][7][8] However, an unpublished paper by Tarpent & Kendall (1998)[9] finds this relationship to be unfounded because of the extremely different morphological structures of Takelma and Kalapuyan.
Proto-language
Below is a list of Proto-Kalapuyan reconstructions by Shipley (1970):[10]
^cited in: Mithun, Marianne. (1999). The languages of Native North America, pp. 432-433. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
^Shipley, William. 1970. Proto-Kalapuyan. In Swanson, Jr., Earl H. (ed.), Languages and Cultures of Western North America, 97-106. Pocatello: Idaho State University Press.
Goddard, Ives (Ed.). (1996). Languages. Handbook of North American Indians (W. C. Sturtevant, General Ed.) (Vol. 17). Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution. ISBN0-16-048774-9.
Jacobs, Melville (1945). Kalapuya Texts. University of Washington Publications in Anthropology. Vol. 11. Seattle: University of Washington.
Sturtevant, William C. (Ed.). (1978–present). Handbook of North American Indians (Vol. 1-20). Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution. (Vols. 1-3, 16, 18-20 not yet published).