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CEFR C2 — Proficiency

Vernacular

Definition

(formal/academic) The language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region, as distinguished from the literary, official, or standard form of the language; often used in contrast with Latin in historical contexts, or to describe the everyday, non-technical speech of a community. Collocates with 'in the vernacular', 'local vernacular', 'architectural vernacular' (by metaphorical extension).

Example Sentences

1Dante's decision to write the Divine Comedy in the Tuscan vernacular, rather than in Latin, was a revolutionary act that helped shape the modern Italian language.
2Is the increasing dominance of English as a global lingua franca threatening the survival of local vernaculars worldwide?
3The poet's later work does not abandon formal diction entirely but incorporates the vernacular to startling rhetorical effect.
4Study the vernacular architecture of the region carefully before proposing any new development; its principles of passive cooling remain remarkably sophisticated.
5There is a long and distinguished tradition in postcolonial literature of writers reclaiming the vernacular as a vehicle for serious literary expression.

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