quốc ngữ

Friendly

The Vietnamese word "quốc ngữ" is a noun that means "national language." It refers specifically to the modern Vietnamese writing system, which uses the Latin alphabet to transcribe the Vietnamese language. This system was developed in the 17th century when Western missionaries, particularly evangelists, came to Vietnam to spread Christianity. They adapted the Latin alphabet to create a way to write Vietnamese sounds.

Usage Instructions:

• "Quốc ngữ" is used to discuss the written form of Vietnamese as opposed to its spoken form.
• When talking about the Vietnamese language in an academic context or discussions about language history, "quốc ngữ" is the proper term to use.

Example:

• "Quốc ngữ đã thay thế chữ Hán và chữ Nôm để trở thành ngôn ngữ chính thức của Việt Nam." (National language has replaced Hán and Nôm to become the official language of Vietnam.)

Advanced Usage:

• "Quốc ngữ" can also be used in discussions about language policy, education, and the impact of language on culture and identity.
• For example, when discussing literacy campaigns in Vietnam, one might say, "Chính phủ đã đầu tư vào việc giảng dạy quốc ngữ để nâng cao tỷ lệ biết chữ." (The government has invested in teaching the national language to increase literacy rates.)

Word Variants:

• "Ngữ" (language) can be combined with other words to describe different languages, such as "tiếng Anh" (English language) or "tiếng Pháp" (French language).
• "Quốc" (national) can also be used in different contexts, such as "quốc gia" (nation) or "quốc hội" (national assembly).

Different Meanings:

• While "quốc ngữ" specifically refers to the Latin-based writing system for Vietnamese, the term "ngữ" alone can refer to any language in general.
• "Quốc" can relate to anything national, such as "quốc kỳ" (national flag).

Synonyms:

• There are no direct synonyms for "quốc ngữ," but it can be contrasted with "chữ Hán" (Hán script) and "chữ Nôm" (Nôm script), which are older writing systems used in Vietnam before the adoption of quốc ngữ.

Academic

noun

1. National language
2. Quốc Ngữ (national language) resided in borrowing the Latin to transcribe the Vietnamese. In the 17th century, the Western evangelists came to Vietnam to preach Christianism and used the Latin alphabet to transcribe the Vietnamese. In 1651, Alexandre Rhodes published An Nam Portuguese and Latin Dictionary. In the early 19th century, Pigneau de Béhaine and Taberd published An Nam -Latin Dictionary. Step by step, Quốc Ngữ replaced Hán (Chinese) and nôm languages to become the Vietnamese official language