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

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 Airport ...

area of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

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 Revival most often refers to: *Resuscitation of a person *Language revival of an extinct language *Revival (sports team) of a defunct team *Revival (television) of a former television series *Revival (theatre), a new production of a previously pro ...

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 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, ...

. 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: People * Angela (given name), a feminine name, includes a list of people with the name * Angela (surname), an Italian surname, includes a list of people with the name * Angela (enslaved woman) (fl. 1619–1625), an African ...

, 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 Curr is an English surname. People * Edward Curr (1798–1850), Australian settler and politician ** Edward Micklethwaite Curr (1820–1889), his eldest child, Australian pastoralist and squatter * John Curr (c. 1756–1823), English manager of col ...

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

Gavan Breen Gavan Breen (22 January 1935 – 5 October 2023) , also known as J. G. Breen, was an Australian linguist, specialising in the description of Australian Aboriginal languages. He studied and recorded 49 such languages. Early life and education Bre ...

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 an event intended to highlight the cultural significance of the surrounding area to the descendants of a particular A ...

" 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 The Yuwibara, also written Yuibera and Juipera and also known as Yuwi, after their language, are an Aboriginal Australian people, originating from the area around present-day Mackay, on the east coast of Queensland, Australia. Country Accord ...

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 to that land by another colonising state. The requirements of proof for the recognition of ab ...

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, were 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 *

Biria people 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 , ...

* Gangulu people *

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 The Gia people, also known as Giya, Kia, Bumbarra, and variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of Queensland. Little is known of them. Language The Gia spoke Giya/Bumbarra, a dialect of the Biri language, belongs to the Pros ...

(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 sinc ...

Wiri people The Wiri (also known as the Widi or Wierdi) are an Aboriginal Australian people of an area on the eastern side of the state of Queensland. They speak a dialect of the Biri language called Wiri (also known as Widi). Country The Wiri's tribal lan ...

Yambina people The Yambina were an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of Queensland, whose traditional lands lie inland (westwards) some distance from Mackay. Country Yambina lands included Logan Creek south of Avon Downs. They ran east to the De ...

* 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 the ...

* Yilba people * Yuwibara people

References

External links

Reawakening (Mackay) Community Language Journey Digital Story

Maric languages Extinct languages of Queensland {{ia-lang-stub