Biri, also known as Biria, Birri Gubba, Birigaba, Wiri, Perembba and other variants, is an Australian Aboriginal language of the

Mackay Mackay may refer to: *Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives Mackay may also refer to: Places Australia * Mackay Region, a local government area ** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region *** Mackay Airpor ...

area of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

spoken by the

Birri Gubba The Birri Gubba people, formerly known as Biria, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of Queensland. Language The Birri Gubba people spoke a number of languages in the Biri language group. Country The Biria held sway over some , ...

people. There are at least eight languages regarded as dialects of Biri, and two which are related but whose status is not yet fully determined (see the table to the right). All are covered in this article. A grammar of Biri proper was written before the language became nearly extinct. some of the dialects have been undergoing a revival for some years.

Dialects

The following languages are regarded as confirmed dialects of Biri by the AUSTLANG database maintained by AIATSIS. Only one alternative name is given, for brevity; most have many more. All of these dialects appear to be extinct; AUSTLANG shows no speakers for any of them since 1975. *E38: Garaynbal (Garingbal) *E40: Gangulu (Kaangooloo) *E48: Baradha (Thar-ar-ra-burra) *E51: Yambina (Jampal) *E52: Yangga (Jangga) *E54: Yuwi (Juipera) *E55: Yilba (Yukkaburra) *E57: Wiri (Widi) *E58: Giya (Bumbarra) *E59: Ngaro (Giya) *E63: Yetimarala / Yetimarla (Bayali)

Yuwi

E54: Yuwi (Juipera, Toolginburra, Yuipera, Juwibara, Yuibera, Yuwiburra, Yuwibarra, Yuwibara): Yuwibara is treated as a dialect of Biri by Angela Terrill, based on George Bridgeman and

Pierre-Marie Bucas Pierre-Marie Bucas (1840-1930) was a pioneer Roman Catholic priest in Waikato, New Zealand, and Queensland, Australia. Early life Bucas was born in the small town of Saint-Jean-la-Poterie, Brittany, France on 21 August 1840. He was the 11th ...

' list in Curr (Vol.3, pp. 44–51), having over 80% in common with Biri. However

Gavan Breen Gavan Breen (born 22 January 1935), OAM, also known as J.G. Breen, is an Australian linguist, specialising in the description of Australian Aboriginal languages. He has studied and recorded 49 such languages. Life Early life Breen was born at ...

assigns it to Wiri (E57) – another dialect of Biri – on the basis of geography and other evidence. AIATSIS had not assigned a status to it. Yuwi had no recorded speakers between 1975 and 2016 according to AUSTLANG, but efforts are being made to revive the language. After a group of Yuwi descendants had worked hard to revive the language, by January 2020 elders were able to conduct "

Welcome to Country A Welcome to Country is a ritual or formal ceremony performed as a land acknowledgement at many events held in Australia. It is intended to highlight the cultural significance of the surrounding area to the descendants of a particular Aborigina ...

" ceremonies in language. It was a long process, which included Elders consulting with the State Library of Queensland, working on building word lists and developing a dictionary. The organisation

First Languages Australia First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

(a language advocacy body established in 2013) lends support. The language and people are usually referred to as Yuwibara today, with a 2020

native title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism. The requirements of proof for the recognition of aboriginal title, ...

determination made in this name.

Ngaro

E59: Ngaro's status as a separate dialect is unconfirmed, with a Tindale wordlist being the only source. Breen assigns it to Wiri (E57).

Gabulbarra

Gabulbarra is name for a people of Central Queensland, but little is known about their language.

thinks that they spoke a dialect of Biri, and the status of their language is recorded as "potential" on AUSTLANG.

Phonology

Consonants

Vowels

Vowels are noted as /a, i, u/.

Peoples

The following peoples spoke the dialects of Biri mentioned above: * Baradha people * Biria people * Gangulu people * Garaynbal people * Giya people (Gia) *

Ngaro people The Ngaro are an Australian Aboriginal group of people who traditionally inhabited the Whitsunday Islands and coastal regions of Queensland, employing a seafaring lifestyle in an area that archaeologically shows evidence of human habitation since ...

* Wiri people * Yambina people * Yangga people * Yetimarala people * Yilba people * Yuwibara people