The Murring–Kuric languages are a family of mainly extinct
Australian Aboriginal languages that existed in the south east of
Australia.
They belong in the
Pama–Nyungan family.
[AIATSIS Language and Peoples Thesaurus](_blank)
, accessed 23 Jan 2010. These languages are divided into the Yuin, Kuri, and Yora groups, although exact classifications vary between researchers. Yuin–Kuric languages were spoken by the original inhabitants of what are now the cities of
Sydney and
Canberra. Most are now
extinct.
The
koala
The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the ...
is named from the word ''gula'' for the animal in the
Dharug language
The Dharug language, also spelt Darug, Dharuk, and other variants, and also known as the Sydney language, Gadigal language ( Sydney city area), is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Yuin–Kuric group that was traditionally spoken in th ...
,
a Murring–Kuri language within the Yora group, and the same word occurs in other Yuin–Kuri languages, such as Gundungurra, within the Yuin group.
, Yuin is listed as one of 20 languages prioritised as part of the Priority Languages Support Project, being undertaken by First Languages Australia and funded by the
Department of Communications and the Arts
The Australian Department of Communications and the Arts was a department of the Government of Australia charged with responsibility for communications policy and programs and cultural affairs.
In December 2019, prime minister Scott Morriso ...
. The project aims to "identify and document critically-endangered languages — those languages for which little or no documentation exists, where no recordings have previously been made, but where there are living speakers".
Languages
The constituent languages are groups are arranged from southwest to northeast:
Yuin group
The
Yuin
The Yuin nation, also spelt Djuwin, is a group of Australian Aboriginal peoples from the South Coast of New South Wales. All Yuin people share ancestors who spoke, as their first language, one or more of the Yuin language dialects. Sub-grou ...
(southern) group includes:
* The extinct
[Christopher Moseley, ''Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages'', Routledge, 2007, .] Tharawal languages spoken along the
South Coast of New South Wales, including Thawa, Dyirringany, Thurga, Tharawal, and possibly Gweagal.
*
Nyamudy language spoken by people around Canberra
*
Ngarigo
The Ngarigo People (also spelt Garego, Ngarego, Ngarago, Ngaragu, Ngarigu, Ngarrugu or Ngarroogoo) are Aboriginal Australian people of southeast New South Wales, whose traditional lands also extend around the present border with Victoria.
Lang ...
(Ngarigu) spoken by the
Ngarigo people
*
Ngunnawal, also known as Gundungurra (Gundungura, Gudungura, or Gandangara), spoken by the
Ngunnawal people and
Gandangara people
The Gundungurra people, also spelt Gundungara, Gandangarra, Gandangara and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Their traditional lands include present day Goulburn, Wollondilly Shire ...
in inland south-eastern
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
in the now Yass region.
Yora group

The Yora or Iyora (central) group is accepted by Dixon.
*
Dharug
The Dharug or Darug people, formerly known as the Broken Bay tribe, are an Aboriginal Australian people, who share strong ties of kinship and, in pre-colonial times, lived as skilled hunters in family groups or clans, scattered throughout muc ...
, an extinct language
which attempts are being made to revive.
*
Darkinjung
The Darkinjung (not to be confused with the Darkinyung people further inland) are the Local Aboriginal Land Council in the Central Coast, New South Wales, area of Australia and a major landowner on the Central Coast, participating in formal join ...
, an extinct language.
They were spoken in the region of
Sydney.
Kuri group
The
Kuri (northern) group has been reduced to its southernmost languages:
*
Worimi languages:
Worimi
The Worimi (also spelt Warrimay) people are Aboriginal Australians from the eastern Port Stephens and Great Lakes regions of coastal New South Wales, Australia. Before contact with settlers, their people extended from Port Stephens in the sou ...
(Worimi, Katthang, Birrpayi),
Awabakal
The Awabakal people , are those Aboriginal Australians who identify with or are descended from the Awabakal tribe and its clans, Indigenous to the coastal area of what is now known as the Hunter Region of New South Wales. Their traditional t ...
*
Dunghutti language
Languages once classified as Kuric include
Yugambal,
Yuggarabul (Yuggera), and
Nganyaywana (Anaiwan) further north.
Comparison
Jeremy Steele's partial reconstruction of the Sydney language
Jeremy Steele's Master of Arts thesis, 2005
/ref> includes a comparison of pronouns in several Yuin–Kuric languages. The following partial and simplified version shows some of the similarities and differences across the family:
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yuin-Kuric languages
Extinct languages of New South Wales