{{Short description|Extinct Australian Aboriginal language}} {{distinguish|text=Nhanhagardi language, also known as Wiri}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}} {{use Australian English|date=January 2020}} {{Infobox language | name = Biri | states = Australia | region = Queensland | ethnicity = Birri Gubba | ref = <ref name="bt">{{Cite book|title=Biri|last=Terrill|first=Angela|year=1998}}</ref> | familycolor = Australian | fam1 = Pama–Nyungan | fam2 = Maric | ld1 = Biri | aiatsis = E56 | aiatsisname = Biri | glotto = east2716 | glottorefname = Eastern Maric <!--d n exist as of 2021 |ELP2=6589 |ELPname2=Barada-->| revived = 21st century | iso3 = bzr }}
'''Biri''' is a language traditionally spoken in an area between Mackay and Townsville of Queensland by the Birri Gubba people. Several grammatical descriptions of Biri were written<ref>Beale, Tony. (1974). A grammar of the Biri language of north Queensland. AIATSIS.</ref><ref>Holmer, Nils M. (1983). Linguistic Survey of South-Eastern Queensland. Pacific Linguistics. </ref><ref name="bt"/> before the language was silenced,{{refn|group=nb|For an overview of the sociopolitical history of First Nations languages, see the Report of the Third National Indigenous Languages Survey (NILS3).<ref name="tn">{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=J |last2=Battin |first2=J |last3=Marmion |first3=D |last4=Smith |first4=R |last5=Wang |first5=T |last6=AIATSIS |date=2020 |title=Report of the Third National Indigenous Languages Survey (NILS3) |url=https://www.arts.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/national-indigenous-languages-report-lowres.pdf |publisher=Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications}}</ref>}} but has been undergoing revival by the community for some years.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-03 |title=Birri Gubba Online Training |url=https://www.livinglanguages.org.au/workshops-and-news/birri-gubba-online-training |access-date=2026-04-08 |website=Living Languages |language=en-AU}}</ref>
At least eight distinct languages have been historically regarded as dialects of Biri.<ref>Terrill, A. (1993). Biri. (Bachelor of Arts (Honours)). Australian National University, Canberra.</ref> Recent research is finding that at least some of these varieties, such as Gangulu, Barada, Wirri and Garaynbal, have significant lexical, morphological and phonological differences to Biri, and as such should be considered distinct languages.<ref>Tudor-Smith, G., & Watson, T. (2024). Reanalysing and Recategorising Central Maric Languages Using Cultural Knowledge. Paper presented at the Australian Languages Workshop, Canberra.</ref>
==Related language varieties== [[File:Tribes around Gladstone1.png|thumb|Traditional lands of Aboriginal people around Mackay, Rockhampton and Gladstone in Queensland]]
The following languages are regarded as closely related languages of Biri by the AUSTLANG database maintained by AIATSIS. Only one alternative name is given, for brevity; most have many more. Most, if not all, of these languages were silenced during the 19th and 20th centuries,<ref name="tn"/> but many of them are now being reawakened by their respective communities. {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *E38: Garaynbal (Garingbal)<ref>{{AIATSIS|E38| Garaynbal}}</ref> *E40: Gangulu (Kaangooloo)<ref>{{AIATSIS|E40| Gangulu }}</ref> *E48: Barada (Thar-ar-ra-burra)<ref>{{AIATSIS|E48| Baradha}}</ref> *E51: Yambina (Jampal)<ref>{{AIATSIS|E51| Yambina}}</ref> *E52: Yangga (Jangga)<ref>{{AIATSIS|E52| Yangga }}</ref> *E54: Yuwi (Juipera)<ref name=yuwi/> *E55: Yilba (Yukkaburra)<ref>{{AIATSIS|E55| Yilba}}</ref> *E57: Wiri (Widi)<ref>{{AIATSIS|E57| Wiri}}</ref> *E58: Giya (Bumbarra)<ref>{{AIATSIS|E58| Giya }}</ref> *E59: Ngaro (Giya)<ref name=austlangngaro>{{AIATSIS|E59|Ngaro }}</ref> *E63: Yetimarala / Yetimarla<ref>{{AIATSIS|E63| Yetimarala / Yetimarla}}</ref> {{div col end}}
===Yuwi=== E54: Yuwi (Juipera, Toolginburra, Yuipera, Juwibara, Yuibera, Yuwiburra, Yuwibarra, Yuwibara): Yuwibara is treated as a dialect of Biri by Angela Terrill, 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 assigns it to Wiri (E57) – another dialect of Biri – on the basis of geography and other evidence. AIATSIS had not {{as of|lc=yes|October 2020}} assigned a status to it.<ref name=yuwi>{{AIATSIS|E54| Yuwi}}</ref>
Yuwi had no recorded speakers between 1975 and 2016 according to AUSTLANG,<ref name=yuwi/> but efforts are being made to revive the language.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Studies |first=Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander |date=2022-08-02 |title=Language status - map and graph data |url=https://aiatsis.gov.au/third-national-indigenous-languages-survey-online/language-status-map-and-graph-data |access-date=2026-04-08 |website=aiatsis.gov.au |language=en}}</ref> After a group of Yuwi descendants had worked hard to revive the language, by January 2020 elders were able to conduct "Welcome to Country" ceremonies in language. It was a long process, which included Elders consulting with the State Library of Queensland, working on building word lists and developing a dictionary. The organisation First Languages Australia, a language advocacy body established in 2013,<ref>{{cite web | title=First Languages Australia | website=First Languages Australia | date=29 April 2020 | url=https://www.firstlanguages.org.au/about/about | access-date=16 October 2020 | archive-date=20 October 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020205954/https://www.firstlanguages.org.au/about/about | url-status=dead }}</ref> lends support.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|website=ABC News|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-13/traditional-language-recovered-and-used-in-welcome-to-country/11846940|title=How Welcome to Country helped save the Yuwi language from the brink of extinction|first1=Melissa|last1= Maddison|first2= Ollie|last2= Wykeham|date=13 January 2020|access-date=13 January 2020}}</ref>
The language and people are usually referred to as Yuwibara today,<ref>{{cite web | last1=Battley | first1=Daniel | last2=Kesteven | first2=Sophie | title=Yuwibara language kept alive in Mackay | website=ABC Tropical Queensland | date=26 March 2015 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2015/03/26/4205236.htm | access-date=18 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Traditional Owners | website=Reef Catchments | date=9 September 2020 | url=https://reefcatchments.com.au/traditional-owners/ | access-date=18 October 2020 | archive-date=20 October 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020001227/https://reefcatchments.com.au/traditional-owners/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> with a 2020 native title determination made in this name.<ref>{{cite web | title=Native Title Determination Details: QCD2020/001 - Yuwibara People | website=National Native Title Tribunal | date=7 October 2010 | url=http://www.nntt.gov.au/SearchRegApps/NativeTitleClaims/Pages/Determination_details.aspx?NNTT_Fileno=QCD2020/001 | access-date=18 October 2020 | archive-date=21 October 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021232713/http://www.nntt.gov.au/SearchRegApps/NativeTitleClaims/Pages/Determination_details.aspx?NNTT_Fileno=QCD2020/001 | url-status=dead }}</ref>
===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).<ref name=austlangngaro/>
===Gabulbarra=== Gabulbarra is name for a people of Central Queensland, but little is known about their language. The Gabulbarra people are closely connected with the Barada people<ref>{{Cite web |last=National Native Title Tribunal |title=QCD2024/018 - Barada Kabalbara and Yetimarala People #1 |url=https://www.nntt.gov.au/searchRegApps/NativeTitleRegisters/Pages/NNTR_details.aspx?NNTT_Fileno=QCD2024/018 |access-date=2025-08-09}}</ref> and may have spoken a similar language to Barada.
== Notes == {{reflist|group=nb}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== Further reading == * {{cite CiteSeerX |title=Selected bibliography of the Birria / Biria / Pirriya language and people held in the AIATSIS Library |first=Eleanor|last= Galvin|date= May 2011 |citeseerx=10.1.1.648.5911 }} *{{cite web|url=https://aiatsis.gov.au/sites/default/files/docs/collections/language_bibs/biri_birri_gubba.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412024322/https://aiatsis.gov.au/sites/default/files/docs/collections/language_bibs/biri_birri_gubba.pdf|archive-date=12 April 2020|title=Selected Bibliography of the Biri / Birri Gubba language and peopleheld in the AIATSIS Library |first=Lisa |last= Marcussen|date= Dec 2014|publisher=AIATSIS Library }}
== External links ==
* [https://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/permalink/61SLQ_INST/11l3i0/alma99183850919502061 Reawakening (Mackay) Community Language Journey Digital Story], State Library of Queensland {{Pama–Nyungan languages|East}}
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Category:Maric languages Category:Extinct languages of Queensland