What does vernacular mean?
Word: Vernacular
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Vernacular means the language that ordinary people of a place use in everyday life, rather than a formal or literary one.
Synonyms: local language, dialect
Word origin: Comes from Latin vernaculus.
How do you spell vernacular?
Syllables: ver - nac - u - lar
Tricky part: The ending is ar, not er. Popular and regular end the same way, yet pupils still write vernaculer.
Watch out for: vernaculer, vernacullar
Memory tip: A bazaar is full of everyday talk, so let the ar that closes bazaar close vernacular too.
Vernacular in a sentence
Example 1: My grandmother tells her best stories in the Marathi vernacular.
Example 2: Cricket commentary in the vernacular has won millions of new listeners.
Example 3: Textbooks in the vernacular help first-generation learners follow difficult ideas.
Fun Fact
Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales in the English vernacular of his day, at a time when many educated writers in England preferred Latin or French.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the option in which the following letters will fit in the given order:
e, a, u, a
a) p_rt_c_l_r
b) m_l_c_l_r
c) p_n_ns_l_
d) v_rn_c_l_r
Show answer
d) v_rn_c_l_r. Those vowels fit only the word for everyday speech; the others are molecular, particular and peninsula.
Word Puzzle
Match the words with their meanings:
1. vernacular 2. verbatim 3. versatile a. repeated word for word b. able to do many different things c. the tongue you hear in local shops and homes
a) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
b) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
c) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
d) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
Show answer
c) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b. All three begin alike: word for word is verbatim, many talents make a person versatile, and local talk is the vernacular.
Back to the Roots
Choose the correct option:
Vernacular goes back to Latin vernaculus. What did vernaculus mean?
a) of the mountains
b) of the home
c) of the city
d) of the sea
Show answer
b) of the home. The word once described what was native to your own household and place.
Word Tally
Score 2 marks for each misspelt word. What is the total score?
vernacular, dialect, colloqial, accent, parlance, idiome
a) 6
b) 2
c) 8
d) 4
Show answer
d) 4. Colloquial has lost a u and idiom has gained an e, so two misspellings give 4 marks.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Why might a village newspaper choose to print in the vernacular?
a) Its editors need fewer desks.
b) Its pages become much cheaper.
c) Its readers follow it more easily.
d) Its stories become much shorter.
Show answer
c) Its readers follow it more easily.
2. Used of buildings, the word describes houses that ___.
a) famous foreign architects designed
b) local builders made in the local style
c) were copied from ancient Roman villas
d) a government planned for its ministers
Show answer
b) local builders made in the local style
