French word

vernaculaire

Pronunciation

IPA/vɛʁnakylɛʁ/

Meaning

  • masculine nounlocal language

Example

À l'école, on enseigne souvent le vernaculaire local.

At school, the local language is often taught.

Illustration for vernaculaire (local language)

More examples

Dans ce village, on parle encore le vernaculaire entre voisins.

In this village, people still speak the vernacular among neighbors.

Core concept

A community's everyday local language, rooted in ordinary life rather than an official standard.

Similar words

langue: A language shared across a country or broad region for speech, writing, and public use.
dialecte: A regional spoken variety marked by local vocabulary and pronunciation.
patois: Traditional informal local speech rarely used in official settings.
argot: Specialized slang or secret language understood mainly within a particular group.

Definition in French

Terme pour une langue ou une variété linguistique utilisée localement par la population, souvent non standardisée mais fonctionnelle dans la vie quotidienne.

Word origin

French vernaculaire comes from Latin vernaculus, meaning native or belonging to the household, from verna, a person born in the household.

Usage tips

  • As a noun, vernaculaire is masculine: le vernaculaire, while the adjective agrees in phrases such as une langue vernaculaire.

Other meanings

  • dialectnoun
  • native languagenoun

Opposites

  • langue officielleofficial languagenoun
  • langue standardstandard languagenoun

Word lists with this word