Tai Lue

Tai Lü (Tai Lü: ᦅᧄᦺᦑᦟᦹᧉ, kam tai lue, [kâm.tâj.lɯ̀]) or Tai Lɯ, Tai Lue, Thai Lue, Tai Le; Xishuangbanna Dai (Chinese: 傣仂语; pinyin: Dǎilèyǔ; Thai: ภาษาไทลื้อ, phasa thai lue, pronounced [pʰāː.sǎː.tʰāj.lɯ́ː]; Vietnamese: Lự or Lữ) is a Tai language of the Lu people, spoken by about 700,000 people in Southeast Asia. This includes 280,000 people in China (Yunnan), 200,000 in Burma, 134,000 in Laos, 83,000 in Thailand, and 4,960 in Vietnam. The language is similar to other Tai languages and is closely related to Kham Mueang or Tai Yuan, which is also known as Northern Thai language. In Yunnan, it is spoken in all of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, as well as Jiangcheng Hani and Yi Autonomous County in Pu'er City.

In Vietnam, Tai Lü speakers are officially recognised as the Lự ethnic minority, although in China they are classified as part of the Dai people, along with speakers of the other Tai languages apart from Zhuang.