Vernacular Language Essay

The Spread of the Vernacular Language One may wonder what is vernacular. Vernacular can be defined as “using a language or Dialect native to a region or country rather than a literary, cultured, or foreign language” (Merriam- Webster). The language of vernacular began to spread in the twelfth century. Before the vernacular language, people only knew Latin. There was a difference between Latin language and vernacular language. The difference was that Latin was written, spoken, and taught to all literacy; whereas vernacular language was more of a dialect and it was not taught to all literacy. Latin had more than just one form of culture because over time it had continued to change. People had the ability to read and write, but the Latin literacy became limited to people during the twelfth century. Vernacular language was more commonly spoken, but writers began using the language in their writing. Vernacular language had an impact on cultures during the twelfth century. Before the twelfth century, Latin was more popular among people, but the origin of vernacular language began and spread. Latin language was very popular among the people. Latin was the growth of the Roman Empire and its language had spread, being used throughout the Mediterranean. Latin was originally an Italic language. Its heritage was the Indo- European family, and then later it started to influence other languages. Writer’s like Dante Alighieri began speaking to a wider audience. Vernacular was also known as “language spoken in the streets” (Sarye). The begin work led by the French was “Song of Roland,” which was the oldest of the songs of deeds. The Song of Roland was a poem with historical truth. It spoke of the time of military defeat or an epic drama with ideological importance. Chretien de Troyes appeared around 1170. This poem represents one of the medieval romances. This poem talks about a lust of two people who could never experience true love because they could never be together. This poem reached a wide audience with love, great

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