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This is a bit of an _ad hoc_ question, but still should be well within the
scope of JLU, so here goes:

While trying to come up with [ideas for our new logo in the meta
group](https://japanese.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/286/new-logo-for-
japanese-language-usage/290#290) ( _subliminal message_ : go and
participate!), the idea of an inkan-like 2x2 kanji logo was bounced around:

```

    用 日
    法 語
    
```

(read vertically)

The design Derek made looks quite spiffy, but I am having some light doubt
about the use of "日語" as a stand-in for "日本語" (for balance and style, using
the full 3-kanji compound is not really an option). While the meaning is quite
obvious, I wonder how accepted this "abbreviation" is, and whether it would
look natural to a native.

My question is: has anybody ever encountered 日語 used to mean 日本語 in a similar
context? Do you have any example to point me to that could put my worries to
rest?

Alternatively: can you think of any good two-kanji compound to say the same
thing? (I _did_ think of 和語, but my dictionaries say it has a specific
meaning, different from just "Japanese language").
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2011-06-22T05:32:55.413
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kanji abbreviations
Is 日語 a good two-kanji stand-in for 日本語 ("Japanese language")?
I have at least four ideas, sorted by incremental order of preference:
国語、邦字、邦語、邦文.  
However, the average learner is unlikely to recognize them.
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2011-06-22T05:38:57.893
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I personally think 日語 is more look like chinese word for 日本語 to me. But as a
two letter word, I still think it is a good one. Japanese use 国語 but that's a
kind of meaning national language, which does not specifically saying about
Japanese Language.
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2011-06-22T06:31:35.477
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I do not think that I have ever seen 日語 for 日本語 in Japanese. Both
[Daijirin](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E6%97%A5%E8%AA%9E&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=0&pagenum=1&index=114896500000)
and
[Daijisen](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E6%97%A5%E8%AA%9E&dtype=0&dname=0na&stype=0)
list the word 日語 with the meaning “the Japanese language,” but Daijirin notes
that the word is used in Chinese, Korean and so on. Indeed 日語 sounds like a
Chinese word to me.

There are a few words which mean almost the same thing as 日本語:

  * 国語 (こくご): Literally means “national language,” but it means the Japanese language. For example, classes on the Japanese language at school are called 国語, and the study of the Japanese language is called either 国語学 or 日本語学 at universities.
  * 邦語 (ほうご): The same as 国語.
  * 和文 (わぶん): Means “text written in Japanese.” For example, Japanese fonts are often called 和文フォント.
  * 邦文 (ほうぶん): Literally means “national text,” but it is used synonymously to 和文.

However, note that it is usually called 日本語, and if you use another word, it
can imply something.

Probably I should write my opinion about the logo on meta, but I will continue
here. As far as the logo is concerned, honestly, I do not think that any of
these replacements works. 日語 sounds like a Chinese word, and I get a
contradictory impression. I feel that 国語 and 邦語 (and 邦文) have an unnecessary
focus on “the national” language which does not really make sense on an
international website. 和文 and 邦文 are slightly off because they mean not the
language itself but the text written in Japanese. Does 日本語 with the lower left
corner left blank really look bad?
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