Nasarawa has no single majority language. Eggon and Tiv are the largest indigenous groups; Hausa is the lingua franca.
Major languages#
- Eggon — Niger-Congo Plateau; largest indigenous language.
- Tiv — south Nasarawa; spillover from Benue.
- Hausa — universal lingua franca.
- Mada — Akwanga axis.
- Alago — Doma.
Minor and endangered languages#
- Migili, Gwandara, Kanuri, Koro, Rindre — small Plateau and Chadic languages.
Lingua francas#
Hausa in all LGAs; English in schools.
Notable literary and political moments#
- The Nasarawa Languages Project (FUL Lafia, 2010s) has begun documenting at least 28 indigenous languages of the state, several with under 5,000 speakers.
Sources & further reading#
- Ethnologue: Languages of Nigeria (SIL).
- Roger Blench, *An Atlas of Nigerian Languages* (3rd ed., 2019).
- Ayo Bamgbose, *Language and the Nation* (1991).
- UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.