Yir-Yoront language

Yir-Yoront
Yir
Native toAustralia
RegionCape York Peninsula, Queensland
EthnicityYir-Yoront
Extinctby 2005[1]
Dialects
Yir Yoront Sign Language
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
yyr – Yir Yoront
yrm – Yirrk-Mel
Glottologyiry1247
yiry1245  bookkeeping with bibliography
AIATSIS[1]Y72 Yir Yoront, Y214 Yirrk-Thangalkl
ELPYir-Yoront
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Yir-Yoront was a Paman language spoken in two settlements, Kowanyama and Pormpuraaw on the southwestern part of the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland in Australia, by the Yir-Yoront people. In 1991 only 15 speakers remained,[2] with the rest of the Yir-Yoront people speaking English or even Kuuk Thaayorre as many speakers of Yir-Yoront apparently are using Kuuk Thaayorre in daily conversation.[3] At present it is thought to be extinct.[4] There are two sister dialects, Yir-Yoront proper and Yirrk-Thangalkl, which are very close. The shared name Yir is sometimes used for both taken together.

  1. ^ a b Y72 Yir Yoront at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies  (see the info box for additional links)
  2. ^ Ethnologue
  3. ^ Gaby, Alice Rose (2006). A Grammar of Kuuk Thaayorre. p. 6.
  4. ^ Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. Paris, UNESCO Publishing. Online version: http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas