Oregon Penutian is a hypothetical language family

Language family

A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term 'family' comes from the tree model of language origination in historical linguistics, which makes use of a metaphor comparing languages to people in a...

 in the Penutian language phylum comprising languages spoken at one time by several groups of Native Americans

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 in present-day western Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

 and western Washington in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Various languages in the family are divided by dialects that are in most cases identical to the various identified tribal bands in the region.

The languages were spoken largely along both banks of the lower and middle Columbia River

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

, in the Willamette Valley

Willamette Valley

The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...

, in the Oregon Cascade Range

Cascade Range

The Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...

, along the Oregon Coast

Oregon Coast

The Oregon Coast is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It runs generally north-south along the Pacific Ocean, forming the western border of the state; the region is bounded to the east by the Oregon Coast Range. The Oregon Coast stretches approximately from the Columbia River in the north to...

, and in the valleys of the Umpqua

Umpqua River

The Umpqua River on the Pacific coast of Oregon in the United States is approximately long. One of the principal rivers of the Oregon Coast and known for bass and shad, the river drains an expansive network of valleys in the mountains west of the Cascade Range and south of the Willamette Valley,...

 and Rogue

Rogue River (Oregon)

The Rogue River in southwestern Oregon in the United States flows about in a generally westward direction from the Cascade Range to the Pacific Ocean. Known for its salmon runs, whitewater rafting, and rugged scenery, it was one of the original eight rivers named in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act...

 rivers. The area in which the languages were spoken includes the most populated areas of Oregon today.

Languages in the Oregon Penutian family (with their identified dialects and area of speech in the 19th century) include:

• Kalapuyan
  Kalapuyan languages
  Kalapuyan is a small extinct language family that was spoken in the Willamette Valley of Western Oregon, United States. It consists of three languages.-Family division:Kalapuyan consists of...
  
  
  • Northern Kalapuya
    Northern Kalapuya language
    Northern Kalapuyan is a Kalapuyan language indigenous to northwestern Oregon in the United States. It was spoken by Kalapuya groups in the northern Willamette Valley southwest of present-day Portland....
    
    
    • Tualatin dialect, spoken in the northern Willamette Valley
      Willamette Valley
      The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...
      
       along the Tualatin River
      Tualatin River
      The Tualatin River is a tributary of the Willamette River located in Oregon in the United States. The river is approximately long, and it drains a fertile farming region called the Tualatin Valley southwest and west of Portland at the northwest corner of the Willamette Valley...
      
      , Lake Wapato, and the lower Willamette River
      Willamette River
      The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
      
      .
    • Yamhill dialect, in the northwestern Willamette Valley along the Yamhill River
      Yamhill River
      The Yamhill River is an tributary of the Willamette River, in the U.S. state of Oregon. Formed by the confluence of the South Yamhill River and the North Yamhill River about east of McMinnville, it drains part of the Northern Oregon Coast Range...
      
      
  • Central Kalapuya
    Central Kalapuya language
    Central Kalapuyan was a Kalapuyan language indigenous to the central and southern Willamette Valley in Oregon in the United States. It was spoken by various bands of the Kalapuya peoples who inhabited the valley up through the middle of the 19th century. The language is closely related to Northern...
    
    
    • Ahantchuyuk dialect, spoken in the northeastern Willamette Valley along the Pudding
      Pudding River
      The Pudding River is a tributary of the Molalla River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Its drainage basin covers . Among its tributaries is the Little Pudding River...
      
       and Molalla
      Molalla River
      The Molalla River is a tributary of the Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon.-Geography:Its headwaters are in Clackamas County, in the Table Rock Wilderness, near Table Rock, in the Cascade Range...
      
       rivers
    • Santiam dialect, spoken in the central Willamette Valley along the lower Santiam River
      Santiam River
      The Santiam River is a tributary of the Willamette River, about long, in western Oregon in the United States. Through its two principal tributaries, the North Santiam and the South Santiam rivers, it drains a large area of the Cascade Range at the eastern side of the Willamette Valley east of...
      
      
    • Luckiamute dialect, spoken in the central Willamette Valley along the Luckiamute River
      Luckiamute River
      The Luckiamute River is a tributary of the Willamette River, about long, in western Oregon in the United States. It drains an area of Central Oregon Coast Range and the western Willamette Valley northwest of Corvallis....
      
      
    • Chepenafa dialect, spoken in the central Willamette Valley along Mary's River
    • Chemapho dialect, spoken in central Willamette Valley along Muddy Creek.
    • Chelamela dialect, spoken in the southwestern Willamette Valley along the Long Tom River
      Long Tom River
      The Long Tom River is a tributary of the Willamette River in western Oregon in the United States. It drains an area at the south end of the Willamette Valley between Eugene and Corvallis....
      
      
    • Tsankupi dialect, spoken in the southeastern Willamette Valley along the Calapooia River
      Calapooia River
      The Calapooia River is a tributary of the Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon.The Calapooia runs through Crawfordsville and Brownsville in the Willamette Valley. The river converges with the Willamette near Albany. It was named for the Kalapuya , a tribe of Native Americans.-References:...
      
      
    • Winefelly-Mohawk dialects, spoken in the southeastern Willamette Valley along the McKenzie
      McKenzie River
      The McKenzie River is a tributary of the Willamette River in western Oregon in the United States. It drains part of the Cascade Range east of Eugene and flows into the southernmost end of the Willamette Valley. It is named for Donald MacKenzie, a Scottish Canadian fur trader...
      
      , Mohawk
      Mohawk River
      The Mohawk River is a river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk flows into the Hudson in the Capital District, a few miles north of the city of Albany. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy...
      
      , and Coast Fork Willamette
      Coast Fork Willamette River
      The Coast Fork Willamette River is one of several forks that unite to form the Willamette River in western Oregon in the United States. It is about long, draining an area of the mountains at the south end of the Willamette Valley south of Eugene.-Course:...
      
       rivers
  • Yoncalla
    Yoncalla language
    Yoncalla is a Kalapuyan language once spoken in southwest Oregon in the United States. In the 19th century it was spoken by the Yoncalla band of the Kalapuya people in the Umpqua River valley...
    
    
    • possibly two or three dialects spoken in southwestern Oregon in the Umpqua River
      Umpqua River
      The Umpqua River on the Pacific coast of Oregon in the United States is approximately long. One of the principal rivers of the Oregon Coast and known for bass and shad, the river drains an expansive network of valleys in the mountains west of the Cascade Range and south of the Willamette Valley,...
      
       valley, along Elk Creek and Calapooia Creek.

• Takelma
  Takelma language
  Takelma was the language spoken by the Takelma people. It was first extensively described by Edward Sapir in his graduate thesis, The Takelma Language of Southwestern Oregon...
  
  
  • possibly the Cow Creek dialect spoken in southwestern Oregon along the South Umpqua River
    South Umpqua River
    The South Umpqua River is a tributary of the Umpqua River, approximately long, in southwestern Oregon in the United States. It drains part of the Cascade Range east of Roseburg...
    
    , Myrtle Creek, and Cow Creek.
  • Latgawa dialect, spoken in southwestern Oregon along the upper Rogue River
    Rogue River (Oregon)
    The Rogue River in southwestern Oregon in the United States flows about in a generally westward direction from the Cascade Range to the Pacific Ocean. Known for its salmon runs, whitewater rafting, and rugged scenery, it was one of the original eight rivers named in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act...
    
    
  • Lowland Takelma dialect, spoken in southwestern Oregon in the Rogue Valley
    Rogue Valley
    The Rogue Valley is a farming and timber-producing region in southwestern Oregon in the United States. Located along the middle Rogue River and its tributaries in Josephine and Jackson counties, the valley forms the cultural and economic heart of Southern Oregon near the California border. The...
    
    

• Coast Oregon group
  Oregon Coast Penutian languages
  The Oregon Coast Penutian languages are a family of three small languages or language clusters on the Oregon Coast that has moderate support. Although much of their similarity is demonstrably due to language contact, linguists such as Scott DeLancey believe they may be genealogically related at a...
  
  
  • Alsean
    Alsean languages
    Alsea or Alsean was two closely related speech varieties spoken along the central Oregon coast. They are sometimes taken to be different languages, but it is difficult to be sure given the poor state of attestation; Mithun believes they were probably dialects of a single language.-Varieties:#...
    
    
    • Yaquina
      Yaquina (people)
      Yaquina originally denoted a tribe of Native Americans, now nearly extinct , along with their language . The remaining Yaquina people live on the Siletz Reservation in Oregon, and are mostly of mixed blood. -External links:*...
      
       language, spoken on the central Oregon coast around Yaquina Bay & along the Yaquina River (central Oregon coast)
    • Alsea language, spoken on the central Oregon coast around Alsea Bay and along the Alsea
      Alsea River
      The Alsea River flows from Alsea, an unincorporated community in the coastal mountains of the U.S. state of Oregon, to the Pacific Ocean near the city of Waldport. It begins at the confluence of the North Fork Alsea River and the South Fork Alsea River and ends in Alsea Bay, a wide estuary at...
      
       and Yachats
      Yachats River
      The Yachats River is a short river on the central Oregon coast, about west-north-west of Eugene. The name is the native name meaning at the foot of the mountain....
      
       rivers
  • Siuslaw
    Siuslaw (tribe)
    Siuslaw is one of the three Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians located on the southwest Oregon Pacific coast in the United States. The Siuslaw language is extinct.-External links:***...
    
    
    • Siuslaw dialect spoken on the central Oregon coast along the Siuslaw River
      Siuslaw River
      The Siuslaw River is a river, approximately 110 mi long, along the Pacific coast of Oregon in the United States. It drains an area of approximately in the Central Oregon Coast Range southwest of the Willamette Valley and north of the watershed of the Umpqua River.It rises in the mountains...
      
       and around Siltcoos Lake
      Siltcoos Lake
      Siltcoos Lake is the largest lake on the Oregon Coast of the United States. Serving as the origin for Siltcoos River, it is located about six miles south of Florence, Oregon. The lake has a mean elevation of eight feet above sea level. Siltcoos Lake is a popular destination for fishing on the...
      
      
    • Kuitsh dialect spoken on the central Oregon coast around Winchester Bay and along the lower Umpqua and Smith
      Smith River (Oregon)
      Smith River is a tributary of the Umpqua River in the U.S. state of Oregon. It drains of the Central Oregon Coast Range between the watershed of the Umpqua to the south and the Siuslaw River to the north...
      
       rivers.
  • Coosan
    Coosan languages
    The Coosan language family consists of two languages spoken along the southern Oregon coast. Both languages are now extinct.-Classification:* Hanis* Miluk...
    
    
    • possibly several Hanis dialects spoken along the southern Oregon cosat in the vicinity of Coos Bay
      Coos Bay
      Coos Bay is an S-shaped inlet where the Coos River enters the Pacific Ocean, approximately 10 miles long and two miles wide, on the Pacific Ocean coast of southwestern Oregon in the United States. The estuary is situated south of the Salmon River. The city of Coos Bay, once named Marshfield, was...
      
       and along the Coos River
      Coos River
      The Coos River flows for about into Coos Bay along the Pacific coast of southwest Oregon in the United States. Formed by the confluence of its major tributaries, the South Fork Coos River and the Millicoma River, it drains an important timber-producing region of the Southern Oregon Coast Range...
      
      .
    • possibly one or two Miluk dialects spoken along the southern Oregon coast around South Slough of Coos Bay and along the lower Coquille River
      Coquille River
      The Coquille River is a stream long, in southwestern Oregon in the United States. It drains a mountainous area of of the Southern Oregon Coast Range into the Pacific Ocean. Its watershed is located between that of the Coos River to the north and the Rogue River to the south.-Geography:The river,...
      
      .

Recent internal classifications of Penutian, such as that of Scott DeLancey, have abandoned Oregon Penutian, while retaining the Oregon Coast family.