Biri, also known as Biria, Birri Gubba, Birigaba, Wiri, Perembba and other variants, is an

Australian Aboriginal language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

of the

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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 , established_ ...

spoken by the Birri Gubba 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 The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), established as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS) in 1964, is an independent Australian Government statutory authority. It is a collecting, ...

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 Angela may refer to: Places * Angela, Montana * Angela Lake, in Volusia County, Florida * Lake Angela, in Lyon Township, Oakland County, Michigan * Lake Angela, the reservoir impounded by the source dam of the South Yuba River Fiction * An ...

, based on George Bridgeman and Pierre-Marie Bucas' 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 "

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" ceremonies in language. It was a long process, which included Elders consulting with the

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, working on building word lists and developing a dictionary. The organisation First Languages Australia (a language advocacy body established in 2013) lends support. The language and people are usually referred to as Yuwibara today, with a 2020

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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 The Gabulbarra people, also rendered Gabalbura, Gabalbara and Kabalbara, is an Aboriginal Australian people of an area in eastern Central Queensland, but there is little recorded information about them. Country Gabulbarra traditional lands ...

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 The Baradha people, also spelt Barada and Thar ar ra burra, and also known as Toolginburra, were an Aboriginal Australian people of Central Queensland not far inland from the east coast. Country Baradha lands, according to Norman Tindale's es ...

* Biria people *

Gangulu people The Gangulu people, also written Kangulu, Kanolu, Kaangooloo, Ghungalu and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people from the Mount Morgan area in Queensland, Australia. Name At least one variant name for the Kangulu, ''Kaangooloo' ...

Garaynbal people The Garaynbal, also written Karingbal, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of Queensland. They spoke a dialect of Biri called Garaynbal, now extinct. Country According to Norman Tindale, the Karingbal had around of territory, aro ...

* Giya people (Gia) * Ngaro people * Wiri people * Yambina people * Yangga people *

Yetimarala people The Yetimarala, also written Jetimarala and Yetimarla and also known as Bayali, Darumbal, Yaamba and other names and variant spellings, were an Aboriginal Australian people of eastern Queensland. Country Norman Tindale originally classified t ...

Yilba people The Yilba, also written Ilba and Jilba, are or were an Aboriginal Australian people of the present-day state of Queensland. Country In Norman Tindale's estimation, the Yilba were assigned a tribal domain extending over approximately , from the ...

* Yuwibara people