vernacular

Noun

vernacular (uncountable)

1. The language of a people, a national language.

   The vernacular of the United States is American English.

2. Everyday speech, including colloquialisms, as opposed to literary or liturgical language.

   Street vernacular can be quite different from what is heard elsewhere.

3. Language unique to a particular group of people; jargon, argot, slang.

   For those of a certain age, hiphop vernacular might just as well be a foreign language.

4. (Christianity) The indigenous language of a people, into which the words of the Roman Catholic mass are translated.

   Vatican II ordered the celebation of the mass in the vernacular.

Synonyms:

• common
• everyday
• indigenous
• ordinary
• vulgar