// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy did Lau language go to therapy? It had a lot of tense issues.

For the Oceanic language of the Solomon Islands, see Lau language (Malaita).

For the Oceanic language of Fiji, see Lauan language.

Lau
Law
Wĩ̄ Lâwmã̄
Native to	Nigeria
Region	Lau LGA, Taraba State
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Benue–Congo Jukunoid Lau
Language codes
ISO 639-3	None (mis)
Glottolog	None

Lâw
People	Wĩ̄ Lâw
Language	Wĩ̄ Lâwmã̄

Lau (Law) is a Jukunoid language of Lau LGA, Taraba State, Nigeria. Lau speakers claim that their language is mutually intelligible with the Jukunoid language varieties spoken in Kunini, Bandawa, and Jeshi. They also live alongside the Central Sudanic-speaking Laka (Hausa name: Lakawa), who live in Laka ward of Lau LGA.

Lau had been previously misclassified as a Mbum language along with Laka.

Names

Names for the Lau language, people, and town:

• Town name: Làw (literally ‘mud’)
• People: Wĩ̄ Lâw ‘people of Lau’
• People (Hausa name): Lau haaɓe ‘the indigenous of Lau’ (from Fula haaɓe ‘servants, slaves, non-Fulani’)
• Language: Wĩ̄ Lâwmã̄ ‘the language of the people of Lau’

Sample words

Some sample words in Lau from Idiatov (2017):

English	Lau
animal	nɛ̃́wkũ̂
cow	nâw
chicken	zǟw
man	jĩ̂nə̀nwò
medicine	gâj