ngôn ngữ

== Vietnamese == === Etymology === Sino-Vietnamese word from 言語, composed of 言 (“to say”) and 語 (“to tell”). Compare Chinese 言語 / 言语 (“individual's word choices”), Chinese 語言 / 语言 (ngữ ngôn, “national tongue”), Japanese 言語 (gengo, “national tongue”) and Korean 언어 (eoneo, “national tongue”). === Pronunciation === (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ŋon˧˧ ŋɨ˦ˀ˥] (Huế) IPA(key): [ŋoŋ˧˧ ŋɨ˧˨] (Saigon) IPA(key): [ŋoŋ˧˧ ŋɨ˨˩˦] === Noun === ngôn ngữ language Synonyms: tiếng, ngữ ngôn ngôn ngữ Ấn-Âu ― an Indo-European language ==== Usage notes ==== Some people distinguish ngôn ngữ and ngữ ngôn, but such distinctions seem inconsistent. ngữ ngôn may be analogous to French langue (“national tongue”), while ngôn ngữ may be to French langage (“individual's word choices”). ==== Derived terms ====