Umatilla Language
Umatilla is a variety of Southern Sahaptin, part of the Sahaptian subfamily of the Plateau Penutian group. It was spoken during late aboriginal times along the Columbia River and is therefore also called Columbia River Sahaptin. It is currently spoken as a first language by a few dozen elders and some adults in the Umatilla Reservation in Oregon. Some sources say that Umatilla is derived from imatilám-hlama: hlama means 'those living at' or 'people of' and there is an ongoing debate about the meaning of imatilám, but it is said to be an island in the Columbia River. B. Rigsby and N. Rude mention the village of ímatalam that was situated at the mouth of the Umatilla River and where the language was spoken.
The Umatillas pronounce the word ímatalam. A Umatilla person is called imatalamłá (with orthographic ł representing IPA /ɬ/) and the Umatilla people are called imatalamłáma. The Nez Perce refer to the Umatilla people as hiyówatalampoo. See Aoki (1994:171).
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