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That's not quite true - 语 as in 汉语 is a spoken language or dialect. 文 is used for written language, and can mean a language in general, a writing system, or an
by Kliment 6y ago
That's not quite true - 语 as in 汉语 is a spoken language or dialect. 文 is used for written language, and can mean a language in general, a writing system, or an entire culture, depending on what you combine it with.
- thaumasiotes 6y ago> depending on what you combine it with It's standing alone here. I'm aware of words like 文明 and 中文, but here are the 14 glosses for 文 in the 现代汉语规范词典: 1. (verb) to tattoo or paint patterns or words onto a body 2. (noun, literary) a pattern, particularly as of wood grain 3. (noun) ancient rites/ceremonies 4. (noun) non-military affairs (opposite of 武) 5. (adjective) gentle; not fierce 6. (noun) indicating phenomena of nature or of human society 7. (noun) writing 8. (noun) an essay 9. (noun) the humanities and social sciences 10. (noun) an official document 11. (noun) Classical Chinese (the language that is to China as Latin is to southern Europe) 12. (measure word) used for the copper coins of traditional China 13. (verb) to cover; hide 14. A surname Most of these senses come from words that include the morpheme 文, not from uses it permits alone, but "language" is still not even listed.
- Kliment 6y ago新华字典 has a gloss of "language" with "written language (文字)" and "foreign language (外文)" given as examples. That's where I'm getting it from.