Bidjara language
| Bidyara | |
|---|---|
| Southern Maric | |
| Native to | |
| Extinct | by 1987[1] Some people might know a few words (2008)[2] |
| Revival | revival movements for Bidjara and Gunggari |
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously:bym – Bidyaragyy – Gunyagyf – Gungabulazmc – Marganywdu – Wadjiguzmk – Mandandanyigwu – Guwamukgl – Kunggariwdy – Wadjabangayixyb – Yandjibaraygi – Yiningayi |
| Glottolog | sout2765 |
| AIATSIS[2] | E37 Bidjara, D38 Kogai, D42 Margany, E39 Wadjigu, E44 Gayiri, D45 Wadjalang / Dharawala;[4] Iningay;[5] Yandjibara;[6] Ganulu;[7] Nguri;[8] Yagalingu /Wadjaninga[9] |
| ELP | |
Bidjara, also spelt Bidyara or Pitjara, is an
Australian Aboriginal language. In 1980, it was spoken by 20 elders in Queensland between the towns of Tambo and Augathella, or the Warrego and Langlo Rivers. There are many dialects
of the language, including Gayiri and Gunggari. Some of them are being revitalised and are being taught in local schools in the region. The various dialects are not all confirmed or agreed by linguists.
Dialects
The Bidjara language included numerous dialects, of which Bidjara proper was the last to go extinct. One of these was Gunya (Kunja), spoken over 31,200 km2 (12,188 sq mi), from the
Fred McKellar was the last known speaker. Yagalingu is poorly attested but may have been a dialect of Bidjara.[10]
Natalie Kwok prepared a report on Gunggari for the National Native Title Tribunal in Australia.[citation needed] In it she says:
- Language served as an important identity marker between the Gunggari and Bidjara peoples. Although academically speaking, differences between the two languages have been found to be minor, from an emic point of view such distinctions were meaningful and consequential. Lynette Nixon recounts that when her father used to converse with the Gadd brothers it was understood that, although communication was possible, they each spoke in their own tongue. Ann-Eckermann recounts,
- I was present many times when Bert Mailman (Bidjera) and Aunty Mini Dodd and Aunty Annie Currie would sit outside their houses calling out to one another in language – it was explained to me that Bert spoke Bidjera from Augathellaand that the two old ladies were speaking Gunggari – and that, although some of the words were mutually intelligible, Bert really couldn't understand what the ladies were saying – and it was driving him crazy because the women were making fun of him. (pers. comm.)
The Wadjigu (also known as Wadja, Wadya, Wadjainngo, Mandalgu, and Wadjigun) language[11] region includes the local government areas of the Aboriginal Shire of Woorabinda and Central Highlands Region, including the Blackdown Tablelands. the Comet River, and the Expedition Range, and the towns of Woorabinda, Springsure and Rolleston.[12]
Language revival
Bidjara
Australian Bidjara artist
Sydney Biennale, The Beauty of Distance: Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age.[13]
During NAIDOC Week in 2019, Bidjara man Owen Stanley shared his insights on the loss of language, and his sadness at not being fluent in his own language, with an audience at Uniting NSW. He said that his grandmother was one of the last 20 elders who died with the language, and attempts were being made to revive the language.[14]
Gunggari
As of 2021[update], there were only three native speakers of the Gunggari language left, including
Woorabinda and Mitchell.[16]
Phonology
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
High
|
i iː | u uː | |
Low
|
a aː |
Consonants
| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labial | Velar | Dental | Palatal | Alveolar | Retroflex | |
Plosive
|
b | ɡ | d̪ | ɟ | d | ɖ |
| Nasal | m | ŋ | n̪ | ɲ | n | |
| Lateral | l | |||||
| Rhotic | ɾ | |||||
Approximant
|
w | j | ɻ | |||
| Peripheral | Laminal | Apical | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labial | Velar | Dental | Palatal | Alveolar | Retroflex | ||
Plosive
|
voiceless | p | k | t̪ | c | t | ʈ |
| voiced | b | ɡ | d̪ | ɟ | d | ɖ | |
| Nasal | m | ŋ | n̪ | ɲ | n | ɳ | |
| Lateral | ʎ | l | ɭ | ||||
| Rhotic | r | ||||||
Approximant
|
w | j | ɻ | ||||
Vocabulary
Below is a basic vocabulary list from Blake (1981).[19]
English Bidyara man mardi woman gambi mother yanga father yabu head ḏun-gu eye ḏili nose guwu ear manga mouth ḏaa tongue ḏalany tooth yira hand marda breast ngamun stomach banbu urine ḏuḏard faeces guna thigh ḏara foot ḏina bone yarrun blood guma dog ngurra snake munda kangaroo bawurra possum ḏangurd fish guyu spider ḏun-ga mosquito buḏany emu gulbari eaglehawk guḏala crow waragan sun ḏurdu moon gagarda stone banggu water gamu camp yamba fire burdi smoke ḏuga food maṉḏa meat yurdi stand ḏana sit binda see naga go wadya get mara hit, kill guni I ngaya you yinda one wanggara two bulardu
References
- ^ Bidyara at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Gunya at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Gungabula at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Margany at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Wadjigu at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
Mandandanyi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
(Additional references under 'Language codes' in the information box) - ^ a b E37 Bidjara at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (see the info box for additional links)
- ^ Breen (1973, 1981), cited in RMW Dixon (2002), Australian Languages: Their Nature and Development, p xxxiii. Some additional names were apparently not distinct dialects.
- ^ L39 Wadjabangai at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ L41 Iningay at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ L44 Yandjibara at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ E64 Ganulu at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ D46 Nguri at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ E43 Yagalingu at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ E43 Yagalingu at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ E39 Wadjiga at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- CC-BY-4.0 licensed text from: "Wadja". Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map. State Library of Queensland. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- RealTime Arts. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ "Voice, treaty, truth: Celebrating our connection to culture this NAIDOC Week". Uniting. 8 July 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ Hosier, Phoebe (26 May 2021). "An outback Queensland school leads the way to keep endangered Indigenous language alive". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
- ^ Moodie, Anthea (27 November 2021). "Indigenous language workshops connecting Gunggari people to culture". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
- ^ Breen, J. G. (1973). Bidyara and Gungabula Grammar and Vocabulary. Melbourne: Monash University.
- ^ Dixon, Blake, Robert M. W., Barry J. (1981). Handbook of Australian Languages, Volume 2. p. 283.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ISBN 0-207-14044-8.
External links
- Bibliography of Bidjara language and people resources, at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- Bibliography of Gayiri people and language resources, at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- Bidyara Swadesh List at the Internet Archive
- Kuungkari, Bidjara, Inangai & Wangkangurru (Central West Region) community language journey digital story, at State Library of Queensland