Pirriya (also ''Birria'', ''Bidia'', ''Kunggari'', ''Kulumali'', and ''Kungadutji'') is an extinct and unclassified

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 ...

. It was spoken by the Bidia people (also known as ''Biria'') of the western and central western Queensland, including Barcoo Shire, Whitula Creek,

Cooper Creek The Cooper Creek (formerly Cooper's Creek) is a river in the Australian states of Queensland and South Australia. It was the site of the death of the explorers Burke and Wills in 1861. It is sometimes known as the Barcoo River from one of its t ...

, and

Jundah Jundah is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Barcoo, Queensland, Australia. Jundah is the administrative centre of the Barcoo Shire local government area. In the , the locality of Jundah had a population of 106 people. Geography Th ...

. It is not to be confused with the

Biri language Biri, also known as Biria, Birri Gubba, Birigaba, Wiri, Perembba and other variants, is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Mackay area of Queensland spoken by the Birri Gubba people. There are at least eight languages regarded as diale ...

and its dialects, also a

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_ ...

language, spoken by the Biria people.

Classification

Geographically it lay between the Karnic and Maric languages, but had no obvious connection to either; the data is too poor to draw any conclusions on classification. Dixon (2002) classes Pirriya with Kungkari as a subgroup of the Maric languages while Breen (1990) suggests it may be a Karnic language.

Vocabulary

Some words from the Birria language, as spelt and written by Birria authors include: * ''Billar'': spear * ''Binoor'': bandicoot * ''Boorong'': rock * ''Bowra'': kangaroo * ''Burlo moori'': good day * ''Gulburri'': emu * ''Noka'': water * ''Ullatah'': moon

References

External links

Bibliography of Pirriya 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, ...

Unclassified languages of Australia Karnic languages Extinct languages of Queensland {{ia-lang-stub