Pirriya language

"Biria language" redirects here and is not to be confused with the Biri language, also of Queensland.

"Bidia language" redirects here and is not to be confused with the Bidiya language of Chad.

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]

Pirriya
Birria
Native to	Australia
Ethnicity	Bidia
Extinct	1969
Language family	Pama–Nyungan (unclassified, possibly Karnic) Pirriya
Language codes
ISO 639-3	xpa
Glottolog	pirr1240
AIATSIS[1]	L36
ELP	Pirriya

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