ngữ ngôn

== Vietnamese == === Alternative forms === ngữ-ngôn === Etymology === Sino-Vietnamese word from 語言, composed of 語 (“to tell”) and 言 (“to say”), from Chinese 語言 / 语言 (“national tongue”). Compare Chinese 言語 / 言语 (ngôn ngữ, “individual's word choices”) and Japanese 語り言 (katarigoto, “aphorism”). === Noun === ngữ ngôn (rare) synonym of ngôn ngữ (“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”).