Data collected by AUSTLANG

Data on the Gumbaynggir language

Alternative names: Kumbainggar, Kumbainggiri, Gumbainggir, Baanby, Ba:nby

For a full list of alternative names and spelling, see Austlang.

Main dialects: Eades (1979) suggests that Baanby should be treated as a dialect of Gumbaynggir.

Classification: Pama-Nyungan

Area: Australia, New South Wales.

Lower course of Nymboida River and across the range toward Urunga, Coff (Korff) Harbour, and Bellingen; at South Grafton and Glenreagh; along the coast south from near One Tree Point; at Woolgoolga and Nambucca Heads. (Tindale, 1974)

Number of speakers: The 2005 National Indigenous Languages Survey Report gave an estimate of 40 speakers (probably not counting Baanby, for which the 2005 NILS counted 5 speakers).

Language vitality & transmission:

Gumbaynggir is on the brink of extinction. Gumbaynggir is a “critically endangered” language according to UNESCO’s criteria and NILS considers that it is “no longer fully spoken”.

The Gumbaynggir language is taught at several schools and pre-schools. Adult education courses are also offered (2006).

Muurrbay Aboriginal and Culture Cooperative is running a revitalization program on Gumbaynggir.

More information on the Cooperative’s website

Bibliography

Eades, Diana. 1979. Gumbaynggir. In Handbook of Australian languages vol1, eds. RMW Dixon and B Blake, 244-361. Canberra; Australian National University Press.

Muurrbay Aboriginal and Culture Cooperative. 2001. A Gumbaynggir language dictionary = Gumbayngirr bijaarr jandaygam. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.

Tindale, Norman. 1974. Tribal Boundaries in Aboriginal Australia. Canberra: Division of National Mapping, Department of National Development.

See Austlang website for a complete bibliography about Bundjalung

Links

Muurrbay Aboriginal and Culture Cooperative website

Ethnologue entry for Gumbaynggir

AUSTLANG website