法语

Étymologie et composants

The Chinese word 法语 (fǎyǔ) for "French" is a compound of two characters: 法 (fǎ), meaning "law" or "method", and 语 (yǔ), meaning "language" or "speech". The character 法 is derived from the oracle bone script, which depicts a hand holding a stick or brush, representing the act of writing or drawing. The character 语 is derived from the pictograph of a person speaking, with the mouth open and the tongue visible.The combination of these two characters, 法语, creates a word that literally means "the language of law" or "the language of method". This is a reference to the fact that French was the language of diplomacy and international law in Europe for many centuries, and it was also the language of science and philosophy during the Enlightenment.In modern Chinese, 法语 is used to refer to the French language in general, and it is also used to refer to French culture and civilization.