Gumbaynggir (also spelled Gumbaingari, Kumbainggar, Kumbaingeri, Gambalamam, and also called Baanbay) 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 ...

spoken by the

Gumbaynggirr The Gumbaynggirr people, also rendered Kumbainggar, Gumbangeri and other variant spellings, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. Gumbathagang was a probable clan or sub-group. The traditional lands of th ...

people, who are native to the

Mid North Coast The Mid North Coast is a country region in the north-east of the state of New South Wales, Australia. The region, situated 416km north of Sydney, covers the mid northern coast of the state, beginning from Port Stephens at Hawks Nest to as far ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

History and description

Gumbaynggir is the only surviving language in the Gumbaynggiric family of Pama–Nyungan stock. It has a

binary Binary may refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * Binary number, a representation of numbers using only two values (0 and 1) for each digit * Binary function, a function that takes two arguments * Binary operation, a mathematical op ...

way of counting numbers.

Phonology

Vowels

Consonants

Voiced stops may also be realised as voiceless sounds , k, c, t when occurring in intervocalic positions.

Revitalisation

Organised revitalisation of Gumbaynggir has been under way since 1986 when

Muurrbay Aboriginal Language and Culture Co-operative Muurrbay Aboriginal Language and Culture Co-operative is a language revitalisation centre for Aboriginal Australian languages of a region in New South Wales, situated in Nambucca Heads. History In 1986, several elders of the Gumbaynggirr peo ...

was founded at Nambucca Heads. Classes in Gumbaynggir are taught through the North Coast Institute of

TAFE Technical and further education or simply TAFE () is the common name in Australia for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational courses. Colloquially also known ...

up to Certificate II level. Muurrbay and Many Rivers Aboriginal Language Centre (MRALC) supports Aboriginal language revitalization through activities that include: * Providing access to linguistic expertise, and training for Aboriginal people. * Recording languages wherever possible, and assisting with access to archival materials, providing a regional storage base for these materials. * Producing language materials such as dictionaries or wordlists, grammars, learner's guides, transcriptions and translations. * Providing community access to languages by using, and assisting communities to use information technology such as: Transcriber, Shoebox, Powerpoint and Adobe Audition. * Employing linguists, Aboriginal language researchers and specialists in Information and Communication Technology. * Raising awareness in the wider community about the value of Aboriginal languages. In recent years, the Bularri Muurlay Nyanggan Aboriginal Corporation (BMNAC), established in 2010 by Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung man Clark Webb, has made great efforts to revitalise the Gumbaynggirr language. The BMNAC started in 2010 when two after school learning centres were set up at Wongala Estate Aboriginal Reserve and

Woolgoolga Woolgoolga is a town on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the Pacific Highway, approximately 550 km north of Sydney and 365 km south of Brisbane. The closest city to Woolgoolga is Coffs Harbour, which lies 24 ...

High School. A third after school Learning Centre was established at William Bayldon Primary School in Sawtell in 2012. Further efforts from the BMNAC saw the Gumbaynggirr Giingana Freedom School open in February 2022. The first independent Indigenous bilingual primary school to ever operate in New South Wales. The school caters to students from K-2, and operates under the ethos of “Bularri Muurlay Nyanggan” meaning "Two Path Strong" in Gumbaynggirr language.

Funding

Muurrbay Aboriginal Language and Culture Cooperative Ltd at Bellwood receives funding from the following government organisations: * The

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

has an Indigenous Languages Support (ILS) program which gives money to community driven digital and multi-media resources as a tool for maintenance, revival and development of native languages * New South Wales Department of Aboriginal Affairs has funded the Muurrbay Centre

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

-based Aboriginal Languages Summer School In November 2011, the Australian Government declared an

Indigenous Protected Area An Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) is a class of protected area used in Australia; each is formed by voluntary agreement with Indigenous Australians, and declared by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander representative organisation ...

for the Gumbaynggirr people. The ''Indigenous Protected Areas Act'' protects the native land of

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

. The protection of the land ties into the spiritual beliefs of the Gumbaynggirr people and by protecting the land, the government is helping revitalise their culture.

References

External links

Bibliography of Gumbaynggir people and language resources
at the

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies 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, ...

Rosetta Project: Kumbainggar Swadesh List
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gumbaynggirr language Gumbaynggiric languages Indigenous Australian languages in New South Wales Critically endangered languages