Jirrbal
Dyirbal
Pama-Nyungan (Dyirbalic)
Pama-Nyungan language of North Queensland made famous by Dixon's 1972 grammar and Lakoff's "Women, Fire and Dangerous Things" — its four noun classes (bayi masculine/animate, balan feminine/water/fire/dangerous, balam edible plants, bala residue) became a textbook example of non-Aristotelian categorisation. Dyirbal also has a fully separate "Jalŋuy" mother-in-law avoidance vocabulary with the same grammar but disjoint lexicon.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Dyirbal
Water
bana
/ˈbana/
Fire
buni
/ˈbuni/
Sun
garri
/ˈɡari/
Moon
gagara
/ɡaˈɡara/
Star
gijiny
/ɡiɟiɲ/
Mother
gumbu
/ˈɡumbu/
Father
ngumi
/ˈŋumi/
I
ngaja
/ŋaɟa/
You
nginda
/ŋinda/
Name
yidyi
/jiɟi/
Eye
jili
/ˈɟili/
Hand
mala
/ˈmala/
Heart
mugu
/ˈmuɡu/
Love
—
/—/
Tree
yugu
/ˈjuɡu/
House
mija
/ˈmiɟa/
Dog
guda
/ˈɡuda/
Cat
—
/—/
Eat
janganyu
/ɟaŋˈaɲu/
Drink
jiwuli
/ɟiˈwuli/
One
yara
/ˈjara/
Two
bulgany
/bulɡaɲ/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
—
/—/
Good
—
/—/
Sources
- Dixon, R. M. W. (1972) The Dyirbal Language of North Queensland. Cambridge University Press.
- Dixon, R. M. W. (1989) "The Original Dyirbal Speaking Tribes of North-East Queensland", in Aboriginal History.
- Glottolog: Dyirbal
Words compared
Compared with related Pama-Nyungan (Dyirbalic) languages
| Meaning | Dyirbal | Walmajarri | Makasae | Kavalan | Babuza (Favorlang) | Proto-Austronesian | Wiradjuri |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | bana /ˈbana/ | ngapa /ˈŋapa/ | ira /ˈira/ | zanum /zaˈnum/ | zalum /zalum/ | *daNum /daNum/ | galing /ˈɡaliŋ/ |
| Fire | buni /ˈbuni/ | warlu /ˈwaɭu/ | ata /ˈata/ | ramaz /raˈmaz/ | apoi /apoi/ | *Sapuy /Sapuy/ | wiiny /wiːɲ/ |
| Sun | garri /ˈɡari/ | ngalyarra /ŋaˈʎara/ | watu /ˈwatu/ | siban /siˈban/ | — /—/ | *waRi /waRi/ | yiray /ˈjiɻaj/ |
| Moon | gagara /ɡaˈɡara/ | pira /ˈpira/ | uru /ˈuru/ | buran /buˈran/ | zilias /siliəs/ | *bulaN /bulaN/ | giwang /ˈɡiwaŋ/ |
| Star | gijiny /ɡiɟiɲ/ | wirl /wiɭ/ | ipi /ipi/ | bituqan /bituqan/ | botto /botːo/ | *bituqen /bituqen/ | giralang /ˈɡiɻalaŋ/ |
| Mother | gumbu /ˈɡumbu/ | ngamaji /ŋaˈmaɟi/ | ina /ˈina/ | tina /ˈtina/ | tina /tina/ | *ina /ina/ | gunhi /ˈɡun̪i/ |
| Father | ngumi /ˈŋumi/ | kirta /ˈkiʈa/ | baba /ˈbaba/ | tama /ˈtama/ | tama /tama/ | *ama /ama/ | babiin /ˈbabiːn/ |
| I | ngaja /ŋaɟa/ | ngaju /ŋaɟu/ | ani /ani/ | aiku /aiku/ | ka-ina /kaina/ | *aku /aku/ | ngadhu /ˈŋad̪u/ |
| You | nginda /ŋinda/ | nyuntu /ɲuntu/ | ai /ai/ | aisu /aisu/ | ijo /ijo/ | *iSu /iSu/ | ngindhu /ˈŋind̪u/ |
| Name | yidyi /jiɟi/ | yini /jini/ | naran /naran/ | nangan /naŋan/ | naan /naːn/ | *ŋajan /ŋajan/ | yuwin /ˈjuwin/ |
| Eye | jili /ˈɟili/ | purlka /ˈpuɭka/ | nana /ˈnana/ | mata /maˈta/ | macha /matʃa/ | *maCa /maCa/ | miil /miːl/ |
| Hand | mala /ˈmala/ | marnin /ˈmaɳin/ | tana /ˈtana/ | rima /riˈma/ | rima /rima/ | *lima /lima/ | marra /ˈmara/ |
| Heart | mugu /ˈmuɡu/ | kurturlu /kuɭˈtuɭu/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | *pusuq /pusuq/ | giiny /ɡiːɲ/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | yugu /ˈjuɡu/ | watiya /waˈtija/ | ate /ˈate/ | kasuy /kaˈsuj/ | kayu /kaju/ | *kaSiw /kaSiw/ | madhan /ˈmad̪an/ |
| House | mija /ˈmiɟa/ | ngurra /ˈŋura/ | oma /ˈoma/ | lepaw /ləˈpaw/ | ruma /ruma/ | *Rumaq /Rumaq/ | ngurang /ˈŋuɻaŋ/ |
| Dog | guda /ˈɡuda/ | kunyarr /kuˈɲar/ | defa /ˈdɛfa/ | wasu /waˈsu/ | asu /asu/ | *asu /asu/ | mirri /ˈmiri/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ngiyaw /ŋiˈjaw/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eat | janganyu /ɟaŋˈaɲu/ | nga- /ŋa/ | nawa /ˈnawa/ | quman /quˈman/ | maan /maːn/ | *kaen /kaen/ | dharra /ˈd̪ara/ |
| Drink | jiwuli /ɟiˈwuli/ | nga- /ŋa/ | gehe /ˈɡɛhɛ/ | mimum /miˈmum/ | minum /minum/ | *inum /inum/ | widyarra /ˈwiɟara/ |
| One | yara /ˈjara/ | kanyjarra /kaɲˈɟara/ | u /ʔu/ | issa /ˈissa/ | nata /nata/ | *isa /isa/ | ngumbaay /ˈŋumbaːj/ |
| Two | bulgany /bulɡaɲ/ | kujarra /kuɟara/ | lolae /loˈlae/ | zusa /zusa/ | naroa /naroa/ | *duSa /duSa/ | bula /ˈbula/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | yaama /ˈjaːma/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | mandaang guwu /ˈmandaːŋ ˈɡuwu/ |
| Good | — /—/ | ngurnu /ˈŋuɳu/ | rau /rau/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | marang /ˈmaɻaŋ/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.