As nouns in terms of "language" 文 means language with implication of civilization, culture and learning (the written form) imbued within. 语 means language, mostly interwined with the oral aspect of the language. 话 means the oral aspect of the language

Chinese characters normally all have multiple meanings, the word " 文" can be someone' s family name，and roughly about 500 years ago, it is also the smallest quantifier for money, like "一文钱". Chinese still have an expression，"一文钱不值" means meaningless or worthless. Nowadays, we use it more often to mean arts-related things, for example, "中文"=language, "文学"=literature,"文章"=article，"文艺"=art. The word was originally evolved from prehistory voodoo charms, therefore, also means picture and pattern in something situation, such as "符文"，"纹路"，"行文规律." "语" mostly means language, but can also mean “tale” and “words” in English，such as the phrase “语言” means language, and “新语” means tells, 默默不语 means silence，without words. Finally, during everyday conversations "话" mostly means people's saying，such as “这话谁说的?”. It also has a meaning as "tale". But unlike “ 语”, "话 " is more common in modern days，like"童话".