Biri dialect

Biri
Native toAustralia
RegionQueensland
EthnicityBirri Gubba
Extinctlate 20th century
Revivalexist
Language codes
ISO 639-3bzr
Glottologbiri1256
AIATSISE56
ELPBiri

Biri, also known as Biria, Birri Gubba, Birigaba, Perembba and other variants, is a dialect of the Australian Aboriginal language of the same name formerly spoken along the Bowen River in the state of Queensland, by the Birri Gubba people.

Phonology

A basic phonetic sketch of Biri is given below. A full phonological analysis cannot be conducted due to the data.

Consonants

Bilabial Alveolar Dental Palatal Velar
Stop b d d̪ ɟ ɡ
Nasal m n n̪ ɲ ŋ
Lateral l
Rhotic r ⟨rr⟩ ɻ ⟨r⟩
Semivowel w j
  • /d̪/ is realized as [ð] intervocalically and word-initially before /a/ and /i/.
  • /g/ becomes /w/ before and after /u/.
  • /n/ and /l/ are realized somewhat retroflex before and after /u/.

Vowels

Vowels are noted as /a, i, u/. Vowels are raised and fronted before palatals and backed before /w/.

Long /aː/ occurs in only two words, being waːga 'work', an English loan, and gaːgini 'Reg Dodd', a personal name.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Terrill, Angela (1998). Biri.
  2. ↑ E56 Biri at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
  3. ↑ Breen, Gavan (January 2009). "The Biri Dialects and their Neighbours". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia. 133 (2): 219–256. doi:10.1080/03721426.2009.10887121. ISSN 0372-1426.