Pirriya (also Birria, Bidia, Kunggari, Kulumali, and Kungadutji) is an extinct and unclassified Australian Aboriginal language.[1] 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, and Jundah.[2][3]
It is not to be confused with the Biri language and its dialects, also a Queensland 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.[4] Dixon (2002)[5]: xxxiii classes Pirriya with Kungkari as a subgroup of the Maric languages while Breen (1990) suggests it may be a Karnic language.[6]: 64
Phonology
Consonants
| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labial | Velar | Dental | Palatal | Alveolar | Retroflex | |
| Plosive | p | k | t̪ | c | t/d | ʈ |
| Nasal | m | ŋ | n̪ | ɲ | n | ɳ |
| Rhotic | r | |||||
| Lateral | (l̪) | ʎ | l | ɭ | ||
| Approximant | w | j | ɻ | |||
The dental /l̪/ only rarely occurs.
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i iː | u (uː) | |
| Low | a aː |
The long /uː/ is considered rare.[7]
Vocabulary
Some words from the Birria language, as spelt and written by Birria authors include:[3]
- Billar: spear
- Binoor: bandicoot
- Boorong: rock
- Bowra: kangaroo
- Burlo moori: good day
- Gulburri: emu
- Noka: water
- Ullatah: moon
References
- ^ a b L36 Pirriya at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^
This Wikipedia article incorporates text from Pirriya published by the State Library of Queensland under CC BY licence, accessed on 30 May 2022.
- ^ a b This Wikipedia article incorporates text from Birria published by the State Library of Queensland under CC BY licence, accessed on 30 May 2022.
- ^ Bowern, Claire (2001). "Karnic classification revisited". In J Simpson; et al. (eds.). Forty years on. Canberra Pacific Linguistics. pp. 245–260. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021.
- ^ Dixon, R. M. W. (2002). Australian Languages: their nature and development. Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Breen, Gavan (1990). Salvage studies of Western Queensland Aboriginal languages (PDF). Pacific Linguistics B-105. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
- ^ Blake, Barry J.; Breen, Gavan (1990). Pirriya. In Gavan Breen (ed.), Salvage studies of Western Queensland Aboriginal languages: Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. pp. 6–21.
External links
- Bibliography of Pirriya people and language resources, at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
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This page was last edited on 15 April 2024, at 17:55